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The far-right and populist European leaders welcomed the election results on Sunday, with some calling for a joint group in the European Parliament. The participation rate throughout the Union was the highest in 20 years for a poll presented as a battle between populists and pro-European forces.
More than 200 million citizens of the 28 member countries voted 751 seats on Sunday in the European Parliament, with Eurosceptic forces posting solid gains.
The Eurosceptic parties hoped to win up to a third of the seats in the European Parliament, disrupting the Brussels consensus for integration.
The leader of the French far right Marine Le Pen won his symbolic duel with President Emmanuel Macron. Jordan Bardella, the party's main activist at the national rally, said: "The gains for our allies in Europe and the emergence of new forces on the continent … are paving the way for the formation of a powerful group. "
In Hungary, the Fidesz party of the nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban seemed about to win a big victory: the polls gave him about 56% of the vote, while in Poland, the ruling party, the party of law and Justice (PiS), won 42.4% of the vote. liberal coalition of opposition.
In Italy, where the vote must end at 11 pm, the polls give the extreme right, the League of Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, more than 35% of the vote.
But the far right has not made it all go its way.
Greens win in Germany and center-right rise in Greece
In Germany, exit polls show that Chancellor Angela Merkel's center-right CDU retains the largest share of votes, despite a historic record of 28%, down sharply from 35.4% in May. 2014.
The far-right alternative for Germany has taken 10.5%, better than 2014, but less than its results in the 2017 national polls.
The big winners in Germany were the Greens, with the largest share of seats in the European Parliament, doubling their score to 22%, in second place.
The center-left Social Democrats fell from 27.3% in 2014 to 15.5%.
In the Netherlands, the center-left party of EU Vice President Frans Timmermans has emerged as the winner of the surprise comeback and has upset the Eurosceptic populist parties.
In Austria, the People's Party of Chancellor, Sebastian Kurz, center-right, was about to win seats. The Social Democrats came second and the far-right Freedom Party (FPOe) came in third.
The results follow a corruption scandal within the FPOe that led Kurz to dissolve his coalition with the far right party and to call early elections for the autumn.
In Greece, voters have dealt a severe blow to Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras' Syriza party, giving the opposition Conservative party, the NDP's NDP party, a lead of over eight points, exit polls.
Change of influence on European politics
The major European parties are fighting each other to influence the choice of a new generation of senior European officials, including the powerful President of the European Commission.
Great Britain and the Netherlands were the first to vote on Thursday, followed by Ireland and the Czech Republic on Friday, followed by Slovakia, Malta and Latvia on Saturday, leaving the majority of 400 million Eligible voters to participate Sunday.
The United Kingdom's vote comes amid the protracted Brexit uncertainty and, even though Britain finally left the EU on October 31, the last deadline set for Brexit, its MEPs could still play a key role in the race for high level posts in the European Parliament.
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