  European elections 2024

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán (Fidesz), FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl from Austria and former Czech head of government Andrej Babiš (ANO) met in Vienna on Sunday to adopt a "patriotic manifesto" for the future of Europe. They said they aim to lay the foundations for a new right-wing group in the European Parliament. At least 23 MEPs from no fewer than seven member states are required to form a political group.

The EU leaders have now officially agreed on who the top posts in the bloc should go to: Germany's Ursula von der Leyen (EPP) is to remain Commission President, Portugal's António Costa (S&D) is to become President of the European Council and Estonia's Kaja Kallas (Renew Europe) is to take over as EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs. Commentators assess the selection from different perspectives.

It is still unclear whether the EU member states will be able to agree on a proposal for the presidency of the Commission at this Thursday's summit. At the same time, the newly elected EU Parliament is under pressure to form political groups as quickly as possible. The lists of names must be presented by 15 July in order for groups to be recognised at the constituent meeting the following day. Europe's press is keenly following the developments at all levels.

Former Czech prime minister Andrej Babiš has announced that his Ano party is leaving the liberal Renew Europe group in the European Parliament, citing differences of opinion on the Green Deal and migration as the main reasons. There is now speculation in the press and on social media that Babiš will form a new sovereigntist parliamentary group with Orbán's currently partnerless Fidesz party and Fico's Smer.

The leaders attending the special summit on Monday failed to reach a consensus on who should occupy the the EU's top posts. According to media reports there is relatively strong support for a second term for Ursula von der Leyen as Commission President, and there are also clear proposals for the European Council presidency and the post of high representative of the Union for foreign affairs. But decisions have been postponed to the end of the month.

Ursula von der Leyen's European People's Party (EPP) remains the strongest group in the EU Parliament and, together with its previous social democratic and liberal partners, still has a majority despite considerable losses. But von der Leyen's confirmation for a second term as EU Commission President is by no means a mere formality, Europe's press stresses.

While the official results of the EU elections are not yet in, the trend is clear: the liberals, greens and social democrats left have lost considerable ground, while the conservatives, right-wing populists and far right have made strong gains. This means a clear shift to the right in the balance of power in Strasbourg. Commentators in Europe's press take different views of how significant the shift is and what impact it will have.

The votes are still being counted but the winners and losers of the EU elections are already emerging: the conservative EPP and far-right groups ECR and ID have gained seats in the single-digit range, while the Greens and Liberals have lost seats in the double-digit range. Commentators focus on the weak performance of the ruling parties in Paris and Berlin.

EU citizens have until Sunday evening to elect the 720 MEPs who will represent them in the European Parliament over the next five years. The far-right groups ID (Identity and Democracy) and ECR (European Conservatives and Reformists) are expected to make strong gains. Commentators discuss what the EU will look like politically once the votes have been counted.

The elections to the European Parliament began today, Thursday, with the opening of polling stations in the Netherlands. Voting will take place in the Czech Republic and Ireland on Friday, followed by Italy, Latvia, Slovakia and Malta on Saturday and the remaining countries on Sunday. A glance at the European commentaries shows that EU citizens' expectations regarding the MEPs and the outcome of the elections vary widely.

With just a week to go before the elections to the European Parliament from 6-9 June, commentators in European media focus on key issues and developments - and look at aspects that have received too little attention in the election campaign so far.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's Fidesz party is focusing its entire campaign for the European elections on the war in Ukraine, stressing that while the majority of European countries are for war, the Hungarian government is for peace and is calling for the war to be ended as soon as possible, including a halt to Western arms supplies. Independent Hungarian media take a closer look at this strategy.

The rift had already been obvious for some time, and then on Thursday the AfD was excluded from the Identity and Democracy group in the EU Parliament. Marine Le Pen's Rassemblement National and Matteo Salvini's Lega were the driving forces behind the move, which was reportedly triggered by remarks by the AfD's lead candidate in the EU elections, Maximilian Krah, in which he downplayed the crimes of the SS during World War II. What comes next for Europe's far right?

Roughly 350 million eligible voters in 27 countries will elect a new EU Parliament in a month's time. In view of an expected shift to the right and huge challenges in areas such as security and climate policy, commentators are sceptical about the next EU legislature.

Four days after the attack on Saxony's leading SPD candidate for the European elections, Matthias Ecke (41) is still recovering in hospital. He was assaulted by four men while putting up election posters and had to undergo surgery. Other parties have also reported violent incidents and attempts at intimidation during the election campaign. What's going on?

From 6 to 9 June, the citizens of the EU will elect a new European Parliament. "The world's only directly elected transnational assembly", as the official information on the election states, will then pass laws that affect "all areas of life" in the EU. Europe's press is well aware of the significance of the elections, as a glance at the opinion sections shows.

Seven years after his Sorbonne speech of 2017 and five years after publishing his ideas for a European renaissance ahead of the 2019 EU elections, Emmanuel Macron delivered another impassioned speech at the Parisian university on Thursday. "Europe could die" if it fails to implement key security and economic policy decisions, he warned. Commentators take stock.

In the run-up to the European elections there is growing concern about Kremlin interference, be it through media manipulation of voters or direct influence on politicians and parties. Commentators discuss where the dangers lurk.

The European elections in June will not only decide the future composition of the European Parliament, but also who becomes the President of the EU Commission. The heads of state and government must reach an agreement and the Parliament must give its consent. For the European press it is by no means certain that Ursula von der Leyen will secure a second mandate as president even if her EPP remains the strongest group in the Parliament.

According to a new Eurobarometer survey, 81 percent of citizens believe that voting is more important than ever in view of the current geopolitical situation. 60 percent indicated interest in the upcoming European elections - an increase of 11 percentage points compared to surveys before the last EU elections in May 2019. Europe's press comments.