2024-05-12 05:21:36
400 million voters determine the direction of the EU for the next ones five years
A month before the European elections, the warning of sociologists about the rise of far-right political families in the next composition of the European Parliament seem increasingly inevitable. Over the past 3 years, analysts have obsessively commented that this vote could be a turning point for the direction in which the EU will develop, at least for the next 5 years.
That there is cause for concern is clearly indicated by the latest data on the sentiments of Europeans. The graph above compares the size of the 7 political families in the EP now and the forecast for after the election. The number of the different groups was submitted by the Office for European Parliamentary Research, and the forecast for the new distribution of seats is in the authoritative European publication “Politico” from April 30.
From the comparison of these two studies, several key conclusions can clearly be drawn: European People’s Party and “Socialists and Democrats” remain the largest political groups in the EP – this will also provide them with leadership positions in the allocation of positions.
According to research by the prestigious “Robert Schumann” Center for Advanced Studies at the European University Institute in Florence, the center-right EPP will remain the main party, and a coalition of “populist right” will secure more seats for the first time. And this, as political consequences, could mean the weight of their vote in determining the composition of the next European Commission, as well as the actions of the EU in relation to climate change.
The far-right’s rise looks more certain than ever – according to forecasts “The Conservatives and the Reformists”as well as “Identity and Democracy” will have respectively 8 and 24 more seats in the next term of the EP.
If the two political families form a coalition, they will almost reach the number of Christian Democrats from the EPP.
The outflow of confidence is expected to be most felt in “The Greens” and in “Renew Europe”. According to the forecast, they will lose 29 and 14 seats respectively.
About 400 million voters have the right to vote in the Eurovote – from Finland in the north to Cyprus in the south, Ireland in the west to Bulgaria in the east, notes the BBC.
Voting opens on Thursday 6 June in the Netherlands, followed by Ireland and Malta the following day and Latvia and Slovakia on Saturday. Many EU member states are voting on Sunday, June 9, including Bulgaria. In our country, as is known, the vote is 2 to 1 – and premature for a new National Assembly.