Voters in the 27 countries of the European Union elected 720 lawmakers to the European Parliament for the next five years on Sunday after four days of voting across the bloc delivered a clear shift to the right.
The parliament has for the past five years been governed by a three-group majority of the centre-right European People's Party, centre-left Socialists and Democrats and liberals or Renew Europe.
Together they have steered EU policy, which has included the Green Deal and the EU response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and divided between them top jobs at EU institutions.
The following are projected results of the new EU parliament:
Parliament group
Projected seats
European People’s Party EPP
186
Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats S&D
135
Renew Europe Renew
79
European Conservatives and Reformists ECR
73
Identity and Democracy ID
58
Not yet declared members* Undeclared
55
Greens / European Free Alliance Greens
53
Non-attached members NA
45
The Left Left
36
An initial exit poll published by the European Parliament on Sunday evening showed a clear shift to the right, with hard-right groups adding seats and the centre-right European People’s Party also set to gain. By contrast, the Greens, lost notably in Germany, and the liberal Renew Europe also shrunk as Marine Le Pen’s Rassemblement National trounced the Renaissance party of French President Emmanuel Macron, prompting him to call a snap parliamentary election.
Parliament groups
Most members of the European Parliament (MEPs) sit in groups based on their political affiliations. They need to have at least 23 MEPs from seven EU countries. Groups receive a share of EU funding of more than 40 million euros based on their size and their representatives get to speak first in parliamentary debates. The outgoing parliament had seven groups.
European People’s Party
The centre-right group is the largest in the European Parliament, dominated by German Christian Democrats, with a fair smattering of Poles and Romanians. The group has forged an alliance with the socialists and liberal Renew Europe for the past five years, dividing up senior posts and driving through policies such as the “Green Deal”. But it has become more sceptical towards the green push in the lead-up to the EU assembly election.
Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats
The centre-left group is the second-biggest in the European Parliament, with its largest bloc of MEPs from Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's Socialist Workers Party. It became the focus of the Qatargate cash-for-lobbying scandal in late 2022 after the arrest of some of its MEPs and staff. It says its priority is to fight unemployment and make societies fairer.
Renew Europe
The third group in the previous governing coalition is very much dominated by French President Emmanuel Macron's Renaissance party, which is expected to be a distant second to Marine Le Pen's far-right Rassemblement National in the election. “We are unequivocally and unapologetically pro-European,” the liberal group says, stressing its support for EU democratic values.
Greens / European Free Alliance
The party dominated by Germany's Greens can claim success in the past legislature with the EU Green Deal fight against climate change despite not being part of the three-group majority. Buoyed in 2019 by a multitude of school climate protests, they are forecast to lose seats this time around as voters see more clearly the cost of the green transition. The group says the next five years are crucial for the EU's green economy transformation.
The Left
The Left, including MEPs from La France Insoumise, Spain's Podemos Unida and Germany's Die Linke, prioritises workers' rights and economic justice, equality for women and minorities. A new German leftist breakaway by former Die Linke co-chair Sahra Wagenknecht adds uncertainty this time around to the group's prospects.
European Conservatives and Reformists
Once the home of Britain's Conservative Party, the hard right ECR is dominated by members of Poland's eurosceptic Law and Justice (PiS), which battled with Brussels when in government until late 2023. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's Fratelli d'Italia (Brothers of Italy) are set to become a major player in the group after the election. Still hardline on migration and believing the EU has overreached, Meloni has shown greater willingness to cooperate with others in the EU, meaning the ECR could play a greater role in the new parliament.
Identity and Democracy
The furthest right group in parliament, with France's Rassemblement National (RN), appeared set to be among the biggest winners in the election as voters frustrated over a cost of living and energy crisis and migration drift from mainstream parties.
However, the group expelled Alternative for Germany after the German party's lead candidate, whose aide has been charged with spying for China, said that the Nazi's Waffen SS were “not all criminals”.
The ID's opponents have also charged them with serving Russian interests, with calls for the West to stop arming Ukraine.
Results by country
Sort by
Austria
Total seats 20
Status
Provisional results
Last updated
June 9, 09:25 PM UTC
Seats by parliament group
ID
EPP
S&D
Renew
Greens
Belgium
Total seats 22
Status
Provisional results
Last updated
June 9, 10:17 PM UTC
Seats by parliament group
EPP
S&D
Renew
ECR
ID
Left
Greens
Bulgaria
Total seats 17
Status
Provisional results
Last updated
June 10, 08:30 AM UTC
Seats by parliament group
EPP
Renew
Undeclared
S&D
Croatia
Total seats 12
Status
Provisional results
Last updated
June 9, 09:25 PM UTC
Seats by parliament group
EPP
S&D
Greens
Undeclared
Cyprus
Total seats 6
Status
Provisional results
Last updated
June 9, 10:17 PM UTC
Seats by parliament group
EPP
Undeclared
S&D
Left
Czechia
Total seats 21
Status
Provisional results
Last updated
June 9, 09:25 PM UTC
Seats by parliament group
Renew
EPP
ECR
Undeclared
Left
Greens
ID
Denmark
Total seats 15
Status
Provisional results
Last updated
June 9, 09:25 PM UTC
Seats by parliament group
Renew
S&D
Greens
EPP
Left
ID
Undeclared
Estonia
Total seats 7
Status
Provisional results
Last updated
June 9, 09:25 PM UTC
Seats by parliament group
EPP
S&D
Renew
ID
Finland
Total seats 15
Status
Provisional results
Last updated
June 9, 09:25 PM UTC
Seats by parliament group
EPP
Renew
Left
S&D
Greens
ECR
France
Total seats 81
Status
Provisional results
Last updated
June 10, 12:37 AM UTC
Seats by parliament group
ID
S&D
Renew
Left
EPP
ECR
Greens
Germany
Total seats 96
Status
Provisional results
Last updated
June 10, 12:37 AM UTC
Seats by parliament group
EPP
NA
Greens
S&D
Renew
Undeclared
Left
Greece
Total seats 21
Status
Provisional results
Last updated
June 9, 09:25 PM UTC
Seats by parliament group
EPP
Left
S&D
Undeclared
ECR
NA
Hungary
Total seats 21
Status
Provisional results
Last updated
June 9, 10:17 PM UTC
Seats by parliament group
NA
EPP
S&D
Undeclared
Total seats 14
Status
Estimates
Last updated
03:46 PM UTC
Seats by parliament group
Undeclared
EPP
Renew
Left
Greens
Italy
Total seats 76
Status
Provisional results
Last updated
June 10, 02:14 PM UTC
Seats by parliament group
ECR
S&D
EPP
ID
NA
Greens
Undeclared
Latvia
Total seats 9
Status
Provisional results
Last updated
June 9, 09:25 PM UTC
Seats by parliament group
EPP
ECR
Undeclared
S&D
Renew
Greens
Lithuania
Total seats 11
Status
Provisional results
Last updated
June 9, 09:25 PM UTC
Seats by parliament group
EPP
S&D
Renew
Greens
ECR
Undeclared
Luxembourg
Total seats 6
Status
Provisional results
Last updated
June 9, 09:25 PM UTC
Seats by parliament group
EPP
S&D
ECR
Renew
Greens
Malta
Total seats 6
Status
Provisional results
Last updated
June 9, 11:09 PM UTC
Seats by parliament group
EPP
S&D
Netherlands
Total seats 31
Status
Provisional results
Last updated
June 10, 12:19 PM UTC
Seats by parliament group
Renew
EPP
ID
S&D
Greens
Undeclared
ECR
Left
Poland
Total seats 53
Status
Provisional results
Last updated
June 10, 09:38 AM UTC
Seats by parliament group
EPP
ECR
Undeclared
S&D
Renew
Portugal
Total seats 21
Status
Provisional results
Last updated
June 10, 12:37 AM UTC
Seats by parliament group
S&D
EPP
Renew
Left
ID
Romania
Total seats 33
Status
Provisional results
Last updated
June 10, 12:26 PM UTC
Seats by parliament group
EPP
S&D
Undeclared
Renew
ECR
Greens
Slovakia
Total seats 15
Status
Provisional results
Last updated
June 9, 10:17 PM UTC
Seats by parliament group
NA
Renew
EPP
Undeclared
Slovenia
Total seats 9
Status
Provisional results
Last updated
June 9, 11:07 PM UTC
Seats by parliament group
EPP
Renew
S&D
Greens
Spain
Total seats 61
Status
Provisional results
Last updated
June 9, 09:25 PM UTC
Seats by parliament group
EPP
S&D
ECR
Greens
Undeclared
Left
Renew
NA
Sweden
Total seats 21
Status
Provisional results
Last updated
June 9, 09:25 PM UTC
Seats by parliament group
EPP
S&D
ECR
Renew
Greens
Left
By
Philip Blenkinsop and Jon McClure
Lead photo
People walk near a sign for the upcoming European elections, at the EU Parliament in Brussels, Belgium May 23, 2024. REUTERS/Johanna Geron
Data source