MKI ELECTION ASSESSMENT – Jad Marcell Harb

This year’s European Parliament elections were the first held since Brexit, the coronavirus crisis, and the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian war. Although the 51.08% turnout in the European elections was about half a percentage point higher than in the previous poll in 2019, it was still the highest turnout European Parliament (EP) election since 1994.

The election result is expected to show a significant shift for the better in European politics, but this will not necessarily be reflected in the composition of the Commission. Although there has been a shift to the right politically, the formation of the right-wing groups and their future cooperation raises many questions, while the declining liberal, socialist, and moderate conservative mainstream, which has been able to increase its votes, can form a majority. The centre parties, which dominate the work of parliament, have thus maintained their majority but have weakened overall, mainly due to the decline of the liberals. The package of agreements on the main EU institutional positions was thus negotiated by the traditional EPP-Socialist-Liberal alliance, with positions divided between them, but it is likely that positions requiring parliamentary approval, notably the Commission President, will not pass through the Parliament’s filter, which also foreshadows further negotiation phases

The full analysis is available here.