The right has strengthened: the ECR and the ID, the Social Democrats, the Greens and Renew Europe have weakened.
According to the updated mandate estimate for the seats in the newly constituted European Parliament (EP), the European People's Party (EPP) will have 15 additional seats in the 2024-2029 legislative period compared to the 191 members of the EP, which is now ending its five-year mandate, the EU Parliament informed on Monday morning .
Roberta Metsola, the outgoing president of the European Parliament, presented the mandate estimate based on the available preliminary or final member state results after the voting in all member states was completed in the EP building in Brussels.
He said that the second largest representative group in the next EU legislative body will certainly be the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D) with 135 seats, which is four less than in the previous term. The Renew Europe faction lost 19 seats, leaving it with 83 seats in the new EP.
The European Conservatives and Reformers (ECR) can count on two more, 71 seats.
The party group Identity and Democracy (ID) will gain 8 more seats and will be able to seat 57 representatives in the EP.
The representative group of the Greens is expected to have 53 representatives, 18 less than in the previous cycle. The Left can have two fewer representatives, 35.
There will be 33 more independent and newly elected members of the EP, 95. The latter will be able to join a party group after the formation of the new European Parliament, the outgoing president of the EP announced.
Speaking to journalists in the European Parliament, Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission and a politician of the European People's Party, said: the EPP is a guarantee of stability, the voters have once again recognized its leading role in the European Union. He stated: since the extreme left and extreme right gained more support than before, a pro-European majority must be built in the European Parliament. He stated that a pro-European, pro-Ukraine and pro-rule of law majority in the European Parliament should be sought in the face of external and internal forces that want to weaken Europe and destabilize its societies.
Von der Leyen, who was also nominated by the EPP as the next president of the European Commission, stated that he is confident that he can continue to lead the Brussels commission thanks to the results of the current elections.
Nicolas Schmit, the top candidate of the European Socialists, congratulated the European People's Party on its election victory in a statement on Monday morning and emphasized that the group is open to cooperating with the democratic forces in the EU Parliament.
We are open to all democratic forces who share EU values and want to build a stronger Europe, he declared.
Schmit said that he expects a decisive climate policy, the strengthening of the European economy and the promotion of social justice from the next body of the European Commission. He emphasized that the EU has to face serious challenges, and only the democratic parties can answer them.
MTI
Cover photo: Roberta Metsola, President of the EP
Source: X/Roberta Metsola
