lAfter the elections to renew the European Parliament –the institution of the European Union (EU) made up of 720 deputies elected by popular vote in the 27 member states of the community bloc–, The main conclusion that this Sunday left was that the main pro-European groups maintained the majority of the chamber with about 400 seatsalthough they are still waiting for the alliances that can be forged.
On the one hand, the European People’s Party (EPP) – conservative – won 189 seats and remains the first community force, while the Alliance of European Socialists and Democrats (S&D) – social democrat – will be the second group, with 135 MEPs. . In third place was Renew Europe (liberals) despite losing a fifth of its representatives and keeping 83 seats.
This is the case, for example, of the Conservative and Reformist parties (73) and Identity and Democracy (58), which between them have 131 deputies and would be waiting for the groups’ negotiations to truly certify their capacity for real influence in the next European Parliament.
How could the balance of the European Parliament be affected?
Due to the nature of these groups, which often do not have sufficient cohesion or internal structure and respond to national interests rather than those of their European parliamentary group, it tends to be difficult to find a stable majority to advance legislation, but they can promote specific amendments.
Both the social democrats and the liberals showed themselves willing to seek that majority, whose first task will be to confirm the candidate for president of the European Commission that the heads of State and Government will nominate in the coming weeks, a position for which Von der herself is a favorite. They read.
Broadly speaking, the electoral results offer a mixed vision. For the director of the IE Global Policy Center, Ilke Toygür, the situation is “better” than what the surveys predicted, although she recognized the “tilt” to the right of the entire chamber.
Perhaps the most representative results of the extreme right in Europe were the case of France, Italy, the Netherlands or Austria, where they achieved electoral advances. In fact, French President Emmanuel Macron called for early legislative elections after the victory of the National Rally party.
The other is that of Germany, where Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democratic party was relegated to third place with 14 percent of the vote. Ahead, in first place, was the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) with 30 percent of the votes, while the extreme AfD group came in second place (15 percent).
Broadly speaking, the electoral results offer a mixed vision. For the director of the IE Global Policy Center, Ilke Toygür, the situation is “better” than what the surveys predicted, although she recognized the “tilt” to the right of the entire chamber.
While the analyst of the European Council on Foreign Relations Pawel Zerka pointed out that after years of consecutive crises, “the center-right gives a more credible image of European realism and the dissatisfied tend towards the extreme right,” he noted.
Regardless of the political distribution that emerged from the European elections, the European Union (EU) will have to respond to a series of pressing questions that its institutions – Parliament, Commission and Council – will face. The outlines of the European Council’s 2024-2029 strategic agenda suggest that it will be largely determined by external challenges (the war in Ukraine and Gaza), which could also affect the green and digital transitions, which in turn would be focused more from the angle of competitiveness and strategic autonomy.
CARLOS JOSÉ REYES GARCÍA – INTERNATIONAL DEPUTY EDITOR – EL TIEMPO
*With Efe
#political #effects #results #Parliament #votes #Europe