Hundreds of millions of Europeans went to the polls between 6 and 9 June to select 720 members of the European Parliament, and their votes have spoken - a rising support for the far-right, and stinging defeat for the greens and liberals.
Election results are showing that the Greens and the liberal, pro-business Renew party spearheaded by French president Emmanuel Macron have lost significant number of seats in the Parliament, potentially endangering the pro-European majority needed to back top officials and support EU laws. Meanwhile, far-right and hard-right parties are expected to hold almost a quarter of the seats when the Parliament next sits, up from a fifth in the last election in 2019.
That said, support for the centre-oriented establishment held, with the dominant European People’s Party (centre-right) and Socialists & Democrats (centre-left) faring just slightly better than they did in 2019 with around 45% of the votes (as of 10 June 2024). Together with Renew, the so-called ‘grand coalition’ with EPP and S&D is expected to retain the slim majority of the Parliament, making up around 56% of seats between them. These parties have for years cooperated at the EU level, building a firewall to prevent the radical right from entering the political mainstream. However, since votes in the Parliament are often decided issue-by-issue by finding a coalition that commands the required majority, it could mean narrow voting margins especially for sensitive issues like those related to the European Green Deal.
Already, questions abound about the future of Europe’s ambitious green transition. Not just that, all eyes are on the EU to watch how it will move forward on issues like stronger national sovereignty and lesser interference from Brussels, enlargement, and immigration.
This webinar unpacks what the election results will mean for the EU internally, its relationship with partners like ASEAN, its outlook on international trade, the future of the Green Deal, and how exactly businesses will be impacted.
23 июн 2024
