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Europe This Week – Week 21

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European Parliament elections results. 

  • European People’s Party (EPP) 26.3% (189 mandates; 13 more than 2019)
  • Socialists and Democrats (S&D) 18.8% (135 mandates; 4 fewer than 2019) 
  • Liberals (Renew) 11% (79 mandates; 23 fewer than 2019
  • Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) 10.6% (76 mandates; 7 more than 2019)
  • Identity and Democracy (ID) 8.1% (58 mandates; 9 more than 2019) 
  • Greens (Greens/EFA) 7.4% (53 mandates; 18 fewer than 2019)
  • Left (GUE/NGL) 5.4% (39 mandates; 2 more than 2019) 
  • Non-aligned (without a group) 12.6% (91 mandates; 29 more than 2019

To get a majority, you need 361 mandates. The current grand coalition between EPP, S&D and Renew has 403, so technically they could continue to govern together. However, the right-wing groups (ECR, ID and the non-aligned, which are mostly right-wing) are asking EPP to drop the collaboration with the center-left and create a true right-wing European governance for the first time. 

The race for the top European jobs has started

  • President of the European Commission: Ursula von der Leyen has a very good chance to get a second term, after EPP (European People’s Party, center-right conservatives) won the European Parliament elections. 
  • President of the European Council: Former prime minister of Portugal, Antonio Costa is backed by the Socialists & Democrats group (second largest after the elections, center-left social democrats). The only serious challenger is our prime minister, Mette Frederiksen. Costa’s unresolved legal issues might give Frederiksen a good chance. 
  • President of the European Parliament: Roberta Metsola (also from EPP) also has a good chance to continue in her current position for another mandate. 
  • High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs: Prime minister of Estonia, Kaja Kallas is backed by Renew Europe (third largest after the elections, center liberals). 

If another grand coalition between EPP, S&D and Renew Europe is formed to govern the European Union, then the four names mentioned earlier will most likely be the ones announced officially. 

Did the far-right sweep over the European Union as it was feared? Let’s look at the results in every EU member state

  • North Europe: Finland (a center left majority – 10 mandates; 4 EPP mandates and 1 for ECR); Sweden (a center left majority – 13 mandates; 5 EPP mandates and 3 for ECR); Denmark (a center left majority – 11 mandates; 2 EPP mandates and 2 far-right)
  • Baltic states: Estonia (a center left majority – 4 mandates; 2 EPP mandates and 1 far-right); Latvia (a right-wing majority – 4 far-right and 2 EPP mandates; 3 mandates for center-left); Lithuania (a center left majority – 6 mandates; 3 EPP mandates and 2 far-right)
  • West Europe: Ireland (equally divided between left and right; 7 and 7 mandates); Netherlands (a center left majority – 16 mandates; 6 EPP mandates and 9 far-right); Belgium (a center left majority – 12 mandates; 4 EPP mandates and 6 far-right); Luxembourg (equally divided between left and right; 3 and 3 mandates); France (far-right majority – 35 mandates + 6 for EPP; 40 mandates for center-left) 
  • South Europe: Portugal (a center-left majority – 12 mandates; 7 for EPP and 2 far-right); Spain (a center-right majority – 32 mandates; 29 mandates for center-left); Italy (far-right majority – 50 mandates from which 9 are EPP; 26 mandates for center-left); Greece (a center-right majority – 14 mandates; 7 mandates for center-left); Cyprus (a center-right majority – 4 mandates; 2 mandates for center-left); Malta (equally divided between right and left – 3 and 3 mandates). 
  • Central Europe: Germany (42 center-left mandates; 30 EPP mandates; 17 far-right and 7 non-aligned; no clear majority); Poland (a center-right majority – 23 EPP mandates; 20 far-right and 6 non-aligned; 4 mandates for center-left); Czechia (a center-right majority – 5 EPP mandates; 1 far-right and 3 non-aligned; 9 mandates for center-left); Austria (a center-right majority – 5 EPP mandates and 6 far-right; 9 mandates for center-left); Slovakia (a center-left majority – 14 mandates; 1 EPP mandate)
  • Eastern Europe: Slovenia (a center-right majority – 5 EPP mandates and 4 for center-left); Croatia (a center-right majority – 6 EPP mandates and 1 far-right; 5 center-left); Hungary (far-right majority – 10 far-right, 8 EPP; 3 for center-left); Romania (far-right majority – 8 far-right, 11 EPP; 14 for center-left); Bulgaria (center-right majority – 6 EPP, 4 non-aligned; 7 for center-left) 

*by center-left, we mean mandates for Renew Europe, S&D, Greens and Left. 

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