European elections 2019: power loses control of power blocs



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The large center-right and center-left blocs in the European Parliament have lost their combined majority because of increased support for the Liberals, Greens and Nationalists.

Pro-EU parties should still be in the majority, but traditional blocs will have to seek new alliances.

The Liberals and the Greens had a good night while the nationalists were victorious in Italy, France and the United Kingdom.

The participation rate was the highest in 20 years, after decades of decline.

Just under 51% of eligible voters in the 28 Member States voted, compared with less than 43% in 2014.

Although populist and far-right parties have gained ground in some countries, they have been far from the very large gains that some have predicted.

The center-right European People's Party (EPP) remains the largest group and badysts say it is likely to form a grand coalition with the bloc of Socialists and Democrats, with the support of Liberals and Greens.

In the United Kingdom, the newly formed Brexit Party won a big victory and the Liberal Democrats achieved strong results while the Conservatives and Labor suffered heavy losses.

The European Parliament contributes to shaping European legislation and the results will play an important role in the allocation of key positions to the European Commission, the executive of the Union.

What do the results mean for the EU?

According to current estimates, the conservative PPE and Socialist and Democrat blocs, which dominated until then, will not be able to form a "grand coalition" in the European Parliament without support.

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The EPP is expected to win 179 seats out of 216, up from 216 in 2014. Socialists and Democrats are expected to grow from 191 to 150.

The pro-EU parties should still hold the majority of seats, largely thanks to the progress made by the liberal ALDE bloc and in particular to the decision by the party of French President Emmanuel Macron to join the group. His alliance with the Renaissance was defeated by the far-right National Rally of Marine Le Pen.

"For the first time in 40 years, the two clbadic socialist and conservative parties will have no more majority," said Guy Verhofstadt, head of ALDE.

"It is clear that tonight is a historic moment, because there will be a new balance of power in the European Parliament," he said.

The Greens have had great success, polls at the polls suggesting that the group would grow from 50 to 67 deputies.

New European Parliament by political group

But the gains for the nationalist parties in Italy, France and elsewhere mean greater influence for Eurosceptics who want to limit the powers of the EU.

Matteo Salvini, who heads the party of the Italian League, has been striving to establish an alliance of at least 12 parties. His party set the tone by winning more than 30% of the vote, according to partial results.

Who were the winners and the losers?

In Germanythe two main centrist parties have suffered. Christian Democrats Angela Merkel rose from 35% of the vote in 2014 to 28%, while the Social Democratic Union's center-left rose from 27% to 15.5%.

The right-wing populist alternative for Germany (AfD) has performed below expectations – exit polls at polling stations are expected to reach 10.5% – while improving its first results in 2014.

in the United Kingdomthe new Brexit party, led by Nigel Farage, garnered about 32 percent of the vote, thanks to Liberal Democrats' gains and significant losses from the Conservative and Labor parties.

Winners and losers in the UK

In the midst of mixed results for Europe's far-right parties, Le Pen's National Rally Party – formerly the National Front – celebrated its victory in la France on the party of Mr. Macron, obtaining 24% of the votes against 22.5%.

A presidential official described the result as "disappointment" but "absolutely honorable" compared to previous results.

In HungaryViktor Orban, whose anti-immigration party Fidesz garnered 52% of the vote and 13 of 21 seats in the country, was also a big winner.

"We are small but we want to change Europe," Orban said. He described the elections as "the beginning of a new era against migration".

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In Spain, the ruling Socialist Party (PSOE) clearly took the lead with 32.8% of the vote and 20 seats, while the far-right Vox party got only 6.2% and three seats , ranking fifth.

In GreecePrime Minister Alexis Tsipras called for early elections after the Conservative NDP NDP won 33.5 percent of the vote, compared to 20 percent for his Syriza party.

The right wing Law and Justice party, right wing party, did well Poland, winning 45% of the vote and 27 of the country's 51 seats.

Why was the participation rate so high?

EU citizens voted with the greatest number of votes in two decades, which is significantly higher than in the last elections in 2014, when less than 43% of voters took part in the vote.

The participation rate in Hungary and Poland has more than doubled compared to the previous survey and Denmark has reached a record of 63%.

Analysts attributed strong participation to various factors, including the rise of populist parties and heightened awareness of climate change.

How does the European Parliament work?

It is the legislative body of the European Union.

It is made up of 751 members, called MEPs, who are directly elected by European voters every five years. These MEPs, who sit in both Brussels and Strasbourg, represent the interests of the citizens of the 28 EU Member States.

The European Parliament

The European Parliament is the legislative body of the EU

One of the main legislative roles of parliament is to review and adopt laws proposed by the European Commission – the EU's bureaucratic body.

He is also responsible for the election of the President of the European Commission and the approval of the EU budget.

The parliament is composed of eight main groups that sit together in the chamber according to their political and ideological affiliations.

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