European Parliament at crossroads as right-wing parties triumph in EU vote

While the centre-right European People’s Party remains the largest bloc, analysts say a shift to the right is likely to set the agenda.

The ground beneath the feet of European Union leaders has shifted after voting across the 27-member bloc delivered a clear turn to the right in the European Parliament, shaking up governments in member states and leaving mainstream groups at a crossroads.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen claimed victory after her centre-right European People’s Party (EPP) maintained the most seats of any single group in the legislative body.

But so did far-right, eurosceptic and populist parties, including Marine Le Pen’s National Rally, whose triumph prompted a surprise call by French President Emmanuel Macron for snap elections.

The crushing blow inflicted on the liberals in France and the Greens in Germany look set to make it tougher for a mainstream centrist alliance to set Europe’s course for the next five years, compromising key EU projects, including the Green Deal, analysts said.

“Under this parliament, it will be hard to read a clear strategic agenda other than some of the core principles around security and the economy,” Susi Dennison, senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), told Al Jazeera.