News on the European election results 2024

The advances chalked up by far-right parties may not be unexpected, and they don’t pose an existential crisis for the EU. But they show how the Euroskeptic right could, in the coming years, tighten its grip on the direction of the union.

Over the next 24 hours, the parties of the center – projected to remain the largest bloc in the European Parliament – will likely talk of a “grand coalition” to counter the rise of the far right. And while the far right is on course to make large gains, the center parties remain ahead.

On paper, these pro-EU parties can claim victory. On numbers alone, the centrist coalition has held. The center-right European People’s Party, the center-left Socialists and Democrats, and the liberal Renew Europe are the three largest groups in the European Parliament. When you throw the pro-Europe Greens into that, the center is by far the largest block.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's Fidesz party, in coalition with the country’s Christian Democratic People's Party (KDNP), has come out on top with 43.7% of the vote, according to an exit poll.

However, this is a roughly 10% drop in support since 2019. In second place, the Tisza party, led by political newcomer Peter Magyar, gained 30.7%.

It’s important to note that Orban’s party is politically homeless in Brussels after Italy’s Giorgia Meloni resisted the authoritarian leader's request to join the right-wing European Conservatives and Reformists Group (ECR).

Giorgia Meloni's right-wing Brothers of Italy party has a clear lead ahead of the country’s Democratic Party (PD) with 28% of the vote, according to an exit poll.  

In second place, PD has 23% of the vote, roughly the same share of the votes that the party gained in 2019. The Five Star Movement came third with 12%.  

She has since been seen as considerably more moderate, backing many EU initiatives including support for Ukraine. 

Despite a surge of support for far-right parties, European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen said the final exit poll remained a success for the continent's political mainstream.

Von der Leyen's European People's Party (EPP) is predicted to remain the largest political grouping in the European Parliament with 189 seats.

"But it is also true that the extremes on the left and on the right have gained support, and this is why the result comes with great responsibility for the parties in the center. We may differ on individual points, but we all have an interest in stability and we all want a strong and effective Europe,” she said.

Roberta Metsola, president of the European parliament, also said the exit poll shows that "the constructive, pro-European center has held."

Belgium's Prime Minister Alexander De Croo has resigned after his party suffered a disastrous defeat in national and European parliamentary elections on Sunday.

The 48-year-old struggled to hold back tears when announcing the decision on Sunday evening in Brussels.

"I was the figurehead of this campaign. This is not the result I had hoped for, and I therefore take responsibility for this result, it was not meant to be," de Croo told journalists. "As of tomorrow, I will be resigning as prime minister and I will fully concentrate on current affairs," he added.

As far as the European Parliament is concerned, De Croo's Open VLD party also performed poorly, only gaining 5.8% of the vote, according to RTBF polling. The far-right Vlaams Belang party and Flemish nationalist N-VA party were neck and neck, with 14.8% and 14.2% of the vote share respectively, according to the RTBF poll.

In his resignation speech, De Croo promised to allow for a "proper transfer" of power to his successor, stressing that he remains convinced that Belgium "needs a new government with full powers that can take on its tasks."

Manfred Weber, chair of the European People's Party (EPP), said his grouping will aim to shut far-right parties out of any governing coalition.

Speaking after the EPP was predicted to remain the largest grouping in Brussels, Weber urged more mainstream parties to join the EPP's "pro-European, pro-democratic alliance."

“The European People’s Party is among the founding fathers and mothers of today’s European Union," Weber said.

"We created today’s Europe and that’s why all those who want to destroy our Europe are our enemies and we will fight against them. We will not allow them to have any kind of influence on the European level.”

The EPP counts 13 heads of state and government among its members, including Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.

Voting across the European Union's 27 member states has now closed.

The final votes were cast in Italy at 11 p.m. local time, bringing to an end three days of voting across the continent.