Final votes cast as EU awaits legislative election results | Policy

The largest democratic exercise in the Western world is coming to an end as tens of millions of European citizens in 21 countries go to the polls on Sunday, the last of four days of voting in the European legislative elections that will shape the bloc's future.

Polls suggest the vote will produce a more fragmented parliament than ever before, with both center-right and center-left groups dominating European politics and planning to lose their common majority for the first time, and nationalist forces and populists to make gains.

Pro and anti-European politicians see elections as a way of controlling the European agenda. French President Emmanuel Macron, who is grappling with far-right leader Marine Le Pen, said the vote comes at the "most perilous moment for Europe since the second world war".

Calling the youth to vote during a show broadcast on YouTube a few hours before the official closing of the campaign, the pro-European centrist – who beat Le Pen in the second round of the 2017 French presidential election, but whose popularity has faded despite anti-government protests – insisted Friday it was May 26 or never!

While center-right and center-left S / D groups are about to shed seats and fail to achieve a common majority without support from a third – and possibly a a fourth – partner in the parliament with 751 seats, the influence of the pro-European party The Liberals (ALDE) and the Greens are expected to increase.

But the performance of the far-right populist parties in Europe, who, along with a large number of conservative and eurosceptic nationalists of the far left, are on the brink of winning up to a third parliamentary seats, will be closely monitored, even if observers doubt their will. to be able to form a coherent opposition bloc.

Among the other national challenges that could prove crucial, the anti-immigration policies of Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini are increasingly challenged not only by his EU partners and the opposition center-left, but also by its coalition partners, the Five Star Movement (M5S). His poll has recently slipped.

Salvini's hopes of forging a populist parliamentary alliance between his far-right League, the Le Pen National Rally, the Alternative for Deutschland (AfD) and other nationalist parties were also touched by a corruption scandal that forced the Austrian Freedom Party (FPO) to leave the government last week and severely undermined its popularity.

In Germany, partners in Angela Merkel's center-left coalition could rank third behind the Chancellor's CDU party (center-right), putting pressure on her government. In Spain, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez seeks to repeat the triumph of his Socialist Party last month. general election because it seeks to form an administration.

The European Parliament, which together with the Council of Ministers – the government members of the 28 Member States – can modify or block EU legislation, also has considerable weight to approve and oversee the European Commission.

While the bloc faces multiple challenges – migration, climate crisis, slowing economic growth, indebted banks, China's rise, hostile and unpredictable US president, Brexit and its own internal divisions – the role of parliament could be 39; prove essential to shaping the block's position next five years.

More than 426 million people on the continent have the right to vote in elections. The United Kingdom and the Netherlands kicked off Thursday, followed by Ireland and the Czech Republic on Friday.

Latvia, Malta and Slovakia joined on Saturday, while the others, including EU giants France and Germany, and Italy closely watched, voted Sunday. The participation rate could be decisive for the outcome, but could be hard to reach at 45%.

Earlier exit polls and partial results in the countries that have already voted are expected around 5 pm, UK time, with more complete results and projections of how the parliament will come later.