Exit polls are now coming in thick and fast, and a first estimate of election results produced by the European Parliament sees the Green and liberal Renew parties each losing around 20 MEPs each and the EPP holding up its support, despite a swing to the right, if less than expected.
The elections which unfolded over four days is the world’s biggest trans-national ballot with some 360 million EU citizens urged to cast their votes to elect 720 members of the European Parliament.
Italy will be the last country to close its ballot boxes at 23:00 CET.
You can get all the latest news and expert analysis with Euronews’ special live programme broadcast from the European Parliament and deep-dive into the numbers with our bespoke results page.
Opinion polls predict historic gains for radical right-wing parties. Such an outcome could shift the balance of power in the EU’s only democratically-elected institution and give right-wing forces more influence than ever on EU policies. Also at stake – who takes the helm at the European institutions in Brussels, including the Commission and the Council, with the elections set to trigger a race to the top EU jobs.
Here’s a round-up to get you up to date:
- The far-right National Rally (RN) secured a stunning victory in France with over 31% of the vote, according to an exit poll, double the tally for President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist Renew party. Macron has called a snap election in response.
- Exit polls have put the centre-right CDU party in the lead in Germany and the far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ) in Austria.
- Dutch Results. 47% of the Dutch electorate voted on Thursday (6 June), with the right-wing PVV party emerging as the biggest gainer of the night based on the exit poll, jumping from one seat to seven. But the Green-Socialist coalition surprisingly edged ahead with eight seats, according to the estimation which will be confirmed this evening.
- The election has been marred by violence, as the Danish Prime Minister suffered an assault in Copenhagen Friday evening (7 June) shortly after a campaigning event.
- Slovak media has also reported preliminary results which suggest the social-liberal Progressive Slovakia has edged premier Robert Fico’s populist Smer party to victory.__Courtesy EuroNews
