European voters elect new parliament as nationalism goes up | New



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The pivotal elections of the European Union parliament peak on Sunday as the last 21 nations go to the polls and the results are announced at a vote that boils down to a battle at the polls. Mainland scale between Eurosceptic populists and supporters of a closer unity of the EU.

Right-wing nationalists who want to reduce immigration to Europe and hand over power to national governments should make gains, although the dominant parties are predisposed to retain power in the 751-seat legislature, which is based in Brussels and Europe. Strasbourg.

Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, leader of the League party, is leading the challenge of bringing together a like-minded group of parties from across Europe.

"We must do all that is right to liberate this country, this continent, from the illegal occupation organized by Brussels," Salvini said at a rally in Milan last weekend, at which took part the leaders of 11 nationalist parties.

Projections released by the European Parliament last month show that the center-right European People's Party bloc is losing 37 of its 217 seats and that the center-left S & D group has fallen from 186 to 149.

On the extreme right flank, the group Europe of Nations and Liberty should raise its block from 37 to 62 seats.

Proponents of stronger European integration, led by French President Emmanuel Macron, argue that issues such as climate change and immigration control are simply too important for just one country can attack it.

Macron, whose country has been shaken in recent months by the movement of the populist yellow vest, called the elections "the most important since 1979, because the (European) Union faces an existential risk" from nationalists seeking to divide the bloc.

Sunday promises to be a long day for election observers – the latest polls will close at 23:00 (21:00 GMT) in Italy, but the European Parliament plans to start publishing estimates and screenings a few hours earlier with the first official projection of the composition of the new parliament at 23:15 (21:15 GMT).

As dust settles after four days of elections, EU leaders will begin to select candidates for high-level posts at EU headquarters in Brussels. The leaders will meet for a dinner summit on Tuesday night.

The current mandate of European politicians ends on 1 July and new members of Parliament will sit in Strasbourg the following day.

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