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European election results

2024
By Christian Edwards and Billy Stockwell

Updated 5:56 p.m. ET, June 9, 2024

What we're covering

▪ French President Emmanuel Macron has dissolved
his country's parliament and called snap elections
after an EU exit poll showed a historic surge for the
French far-right.

▪ Exit polls have showed gains for far-right parties in

Germany and Austria, with voting still ongoing in
several of the EU's 27 member states.

▪ But the mainstream center-right European People's

Party (EPP) is predicted to remain the largest
political grouping in Brussels, and its leader has
promised to guard against extremes "from left and
right."

▪ The vote, one of the world's largest democratic

exercises, comes at a pivotal moment for the EU,
which is grappling with issues ranging from the
wars in Ukraine and Gaza to immigration and
climate change.

27 Posts SORT BY Latest

7 min ago

Full exit poll for new European

Parliament
From CNN's Christian Edwards

European People's Party: 189

Socialists and Democrats: 135

Renew Europe: 80

European Conservatives and Reformists: 72

Identity and Democracy: 58

Greens: 52

The Left: 36

Non-Inscrits: 46

Others: 52

3 min ago

Belgian prime minister resigns after

his party suffers huge loss in
national and European elections
From CNN's Niamh Kennedy and James Frater

Belgium's Prime Minister Alexander De Croo arrives for a summit of

European Union leaders in Brussels on February 1. Ksenia
Kuleshova/Bloomberg/Getty Images/File

Belgium's Prime Minister Alexander De Croo has

resigned after his party suZered 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 aZairs," 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."

47 min ago

EPP president vows to deny far right

"any kind of influence" in European
Parliament
From CNN's Christian Edwards

Manfred Weber, chair of the European People's Party (EPP), speaks at

the European Parliament building in Brussels on June 9. Piroschka van
de Wouw/Reuters

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.

53 min ago

Polls closes across Europe, with last

votes cast in Italy
From CNN's Christian Edwards

A man checks an electoral board before entering a polling station in

Milan on June 9. Luca Bruno/AP

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.

1 hr 1 min ago

Far right 'ready to take power'

Marine Le Pen promises after
Macron calls snap election
From CNN's Niamh Kennedy

Marine Le Pen, leader of the French far-right National Rally party,

addresses party members in Paris on June 9. Sarah
Meyssonnier/Reuters

France's far right is poised and "ready to take

power," the movement's leader Marine Le Pen
warned Sunday after French President Emmanuel
Macron called a snap parliamentary election.

Speaking after Macron's shock announcement, Le

Pen who ran unsuccessfully for the French
presidency in 2022, said she could "not but
welcome" the move to dissolve the parliament.

"We are ready to take power if the French place

their trust in us," stressed Le Pen, who is the
parliamentary leader of the far-right National Rally
party.

The head of the center-right party Les Republicains,

Eric Ciotti, also welcomed the news, calling it the
"only solution" after the results of the European
elections, according to CNN akliate BFMTV.

1 hr 4 min ago

Portugal’s Socialist Party projected

to make marginal victory
From CNN's Billy Stockwell

Portugal’s center-left Socialist Party (PS) is on course

for a marginal victory, positioned less than 1% ahead
of the center-right Democratic Alliance (AD),
according to an exit poll from the European
Parliament.

The exit poll shows that PS gained 31.4% of the vote,

closely followed by AD with 30.6%. The two parties
were significantly more popular than other parties,
with the Liberal Initiative (IL) in third place with 9.8%.

AD won a narrow victory in Portugal’s snap elections

in March, beating PS who had been in power since
late 2015.

1 hr 12 min ago

Tonight's results "not a victory,"

Greens concede
From CNN's Christian Edwards

Philippe Lamberts, a member of the Greens/EFA grouping, speaks on

stage during an election event at the European Parliament in Brussels
on June 9. Olivier Hoslet/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

Philippe Lamberts, a member of the Greens/EFA

grouping, admitted that the exit poll was "not a
victory" for their movement.

The grouping is predicted to secure 53 seats, down

from 74 in 2019.

“Tonight’s result is certainly not a victory for the

Greens," Lamberts said. "But you see, respecting the
boundaries our planet is setting for us is no
hobbyhorse of ours. It is an imperative, if we want
humans to strive on earth. It is imperative if we want
to give a future to all – and we have lost too much
time already.”

He said that, without the Greens in the most recent

governing coalition, Europe's green new deal had
"gone missing." He warned the more mainstream
parties against "embracing the various flavors of the
far right" when forming the next coalition.

1 hr 26 min ago

Ignoring citizens' concerns gives

"space to extreme movements,"
says ECR
From CNN's Christian Edwards

Representatives from the political groupings in the

European parliament have been making short
speeches in Brussels, responding to the earlier exit
poll.

Assita Kanko, vice-president of the right-wing

European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR), said
the strong showings for far-right parties was a
symptom of the neglect of voters.

“When the true aspirations of citizens are

ignored… it gives, unfortunately, more space to
extreme movements. That’s why we need to
listen to the citizens," Kanko said.

She said the ECR, which is predicted to win 71 seats,

hopes to become part of the governing majority in
Brussels, when coalitions form in the weeks ahead.

“What our hope is, is to have center-right policy in

this parliament, to address key issues that really
worry our citizens. What are these issues?
Questions of defense, security, matters of
migration policy, European values.”

2 hr 6 min ago

Turnout estimated at 51%, the

highest in 30 years
From CNN's Christian Edwards

People vote for the European Parliament elections at a polling station in

Lyon, France, on June 9. Olivier Chassignole/AFP/Getty Images

Turnout in the European parliament elections has

been estimated at 51%.

If confirmed, this would be the highest turnout since

1994.

The prediction is slightly higher than the 50.66%

turnout in 2019.

2 hr 10 min ago

Spain's conservative Popular Party

ahead of socialists, exit poll shows
From CNN's Billy Stockwell

The first exit poll shows Spain’s conservative Popular

Party (PP) has overtaken the Socialist Workers Party
(PSOE) with 33.2% of the vote.

If the projection stands, this will be a substantial

increase from the 2019 European elections, when the
party held 20.35% of the vote.

Spain’s far-right Vox party came third with 10.4% of

the vote, nearly double what the party gained in
2019.

1 hr 39 min ago

Von der Leyen heralds support for

EPP, predicted to remain EU's
largest grouping
From CNN's James Frater

Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission and the
lead candidate of the European People's Party (EPP), poses with party
president Manfred Weber during an event in Brussels on June 9. Geert
Vanden Wijngaert/AP

Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European

Commission and the lead candidate of the European
People's Party (EPP), said the grouping will guard
against extremes in Brussels.

Speaking after the release of an exit poll which

predicted the EPP will remain the largest grouping in
Brussels, Von der Leyen said the EPP will deliver a
"Europe that delivers, a strong Europe."

"Together with others, we will build a bastion

against the extremes from the left and from the
right. We will stop them, this is for sure," she said.

With a predicted 181 seats, Von der Leyen said "no

majority can be formed without the EPP."

If confirmed, the prediction means the EPP would

have lost just six seats since the last election in 2019,
despite strong predicted gains for far-right parties.

Manfred Weber, President of the EPP, shared his

support for Von der Leyen.

Manfred Weber
@ManfredWeber · Follow

What a @EPP night! The

#EUelections2024 give us a strong
mandate.

Congratulations, @vonderleyen_epp, and

to our member parties!
Tonight’s victory is about trust and
responsibility. It shows our way of doing
politics.

We hear you, we see you, and we will

lead for you.

8:44 PM · Jun 9, 2024

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1 hr 3 min ago

Macron dissolves French

parliament, calls snap election after
strong showing for far right in exit
poll
From CNN's Niamh Kennedy

French President Emmanuel Macron speaks during a press conference

in Brussels on March 22. Sameer Al-Doumy/AFP/Getty Image/File

France’s President Emmanuel Macron has dissolved

the country’s parliament, the National Assembly, and
called a snap election after an exit poll showed his
Renaissance party is set to be trounced by the far-
right opposition in European parliamentary elections
on Sunday.

2 hr 9 min ago

Results mean "Day 1 of the post-

Macron era," says French far-right
leader
From CNN's Niamh Kennedy and Xiaofei Xu

Jordan Bardella, the leader of France's National Rally (RN) party,

addresses supporters at the Pavillon Chesnaie du Roy in Paris on June
9. Julien de Rosa/AFP/Getty Images

Jordan Bardella, the leader of France's National Rally

(RN) party, called on President Emmanuel Macron to
dissolve the French parliament after a strong
showing for the far-right in European elections.

Bardella said the gap between his party and

Macron's Renaissance party is a "stinging disavowal"
for the French president.

"This unprecedented defeat for the current

government marks the end of a cycle, and Day 1 of
the post-Macron era," Bardella said Sunday night.

"The president cannot remain deaf to the message

sent out tonight by the French people," Bardella
remarked, calling on Macron to "take note" of the
results and dissolve France's lower house, the
National Assembly.

Bardella's call was echoed by leading figure of the

French far-right Marine Le Pen, who said Sunday's
result showed " a very clear message" from the
French people to Macron.

2 hr 14 min ago

France's far-right National Rally

trounces Macron's party, exit poll
shows
From CNN's Niamh Kennedy and Xiaofei Xu

Supporters of the French far-right National Rally party react in Paris

after the polls closed during the European Parliament elections on
June 9. Sarah Meyssonnier/Reuters