EU election results: The main takeaways (2024)

Tens of millions of voters from Vilnius to Madrid were casting ballots Sunday, June 9, on the final day of elections for the EU Parliament. Twenty-one of the bloc's 27 countries, including heavy hitters France and Germany, were voting on the election's biggest day to help shape the European Union's direction over the next five years. More than 360 million people were eligible to vote in total in the four-day election, although turnout in EU polls is historically low. The last polling stations closed in Italy on Sunday at 11 pm (Paris time), it was the last country that was still voting.

The election comes as the continent is confronted with Russia's war in Ukraine, global trade tensions marked by US-China rivalry, the climate emergency and potentially adapting to a second Donald Trump presidency. Here are the main takeaways from the vote so far. We will update this page throughout the evening.

France: Macron calls snap elections after historic far-right gains

French President Emmanuel Macron dissolved the Assemblée Nationale and called early elections after his coalition finished second, well behind the far right, in the European elections on Sunday, June 9.

The far-right Rassemblement National party obtained by far the most votes (31.5%) in France on Sunday, June 9, as voters throughout the European Union elected their members of the European Parliament, according to initial estimates by Ipsos for France Télévisions, Radio France, France 24/RFI, Public Sénat/LCP Assemblée Nationale.

Behind the RN, President Emmanuel Macron's Renaissance coalition held on to second place, with 14.5%, ahead of the Socialists and their lead candidate Raphaël Glucksmann (14%).

Coalition keeps majority at EU Parliament

The existing coalition has retained its majority in the EU Parliament despite high-profile gains by far-right parties in France, Germany and elsewhere, a projection showed Sunday.

The center-right European People's Party (EPP) came first with 181 out of 720 seats, followed by its two main partners – the center-left Socialists and Democrats on 135 and the centrist Renew Europe on 82. They were tailed by two far-right groupings, the European Conservatives and Reformists with 71 seats, and the smaller Identity and Democracy on 62.

${sieges_hemicycle} ${ lang == "fr" ? "sièges" : "seats" }

Germany: Conservatives in the lead

It was no surprise that the conservatives (CDU-CSU) came out on top in Germany, the EU country that will have the most MEPs at the end of the elections (96 out of 720). According to the first estimates, published shortly after polls closed at 6 pm by the Infratestdimap institute on the ARD television channel, they are reported to have obtained 29.5% of the vote, 0.6 points more than in 2019.

Also unsurprising in the light of the latest polls, the three parties in Social Democrat Chancellor Olaf Scholz's (SPD) coalition are slipping backward. At 14% (down 1.8 points from 2019), the SPD achieved its worst ever result nationwide. The Greens, who won 20.5% of the vote five years ago, are reported to garner just 12%. As for the Liberal Democrats (FDP), they are expected to have won 5% (-0.4).

With 16.5% of the vote, the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party is up from 2019 (11%), achieving its best result nationwide since its creation in 2013. Its score is, however, lower than that predicted by the polls a few months ago: In mid-February, a survey by the Insa institute credited it with 22% of voting intentions.

Austria: Far right leads for first time

Austria's far-right FPÖ party is leading the vote count, according to close-to-final results, on Sunday, marking the first time the group has won a nationwide ballot. The Freedom Party (FPÖ) gained 25.7% of the votes, ahead of the ruling conservative People's Party (ÖVP), 24.7%. The Social Democrats followed at 23.2%, trailed by the Greens – which currently rule Austria as junior partners of the conservatives – at 10.7%, down from 14% in 2019. The conservatives slumped from the almost 35 percent they had gained in the last EU elections. Chancellor Karl Nehammer said he had heard voters' "message" and would seek to address their concerns ahead of national elections later this year, including cracking down on "illegal migration."

Italy: Meloni's party ahead

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's far-right party won a decisive victory, securing at least 27% of the vote, according to early projections. The center-left Democratic Party came in second place with more than 23%, according to three projections published by broadcasters RAI, Mediaset and the La7 television channel. It represents a remarkable reversal from European Parliament elections in 2019 in Italy, when the then marginal post-fascist party secured just 6% of the vote.

Nordic left-wing parties gain, far-right declines

The anti-immigration Sweden Democrats, which is propping up Ulf Kristersson's government, had been expected to gain votes and pass Kristersson's conservative Moderate Party to become the second largest – as it did in the country's 2022 general election. Instead, the party ended up losing ground for the first time in an election in the party's history. It won 13.2% of the vote, down 2.1 percentage points from the 2019 election – with over 90% of votes counted. Party leader Jimmie Akesson stressed that they would still keep their three seats in the European parliament. The country's Green Party emerged as the country's third largest with 13.8% of the vote, an increase of 2.3 percentage points compared to the 2019 election. The Left Party also saw a boost of 4.2 percentage points, reaching 11%.

In Denmark, the Socialist People's Party became the largest party with 17.4% of the vote, up 4.2 percentage points compared to the 2019 result – with more than 99% of votes counted. The ruling Social Democrats lost 5.9 percentage points and won 15.6% of the votes. Denmark was rocked by an attack on Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen on Friday when a man hit her on a Copenhagen square. Frederiksen did not attend any election night events.

In Finland, the big surprise of the evening was the socialist Left Alliance, which had 17.3% of the vote, with all votes counted – an increase of 10.4 percentage points compared to the 2019 election. The result meant the party secured three out of Finland's 15 seats in the European Parliament, up from the one they got in the previous election. Prime Minister Petteri Orpo's National Coalition Party still won the most votes with 24.8%, giving them four seats. The far-right Finns Party, part of Orpo's coalition government, saw its support fall drastically. They won only 7.6% of votes, down 6.2 percentage points – leaving them with only one seat instead of two.

Poland: Decisive victory for centrist pro-EU party

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has declared victory after an exit poll showed a decisive victory for his centrist pro-EU party. The exit poll by Ipsos showed over 38% of votes going to his Civic Coalition. According to the poll, the result was a disappointing showing for Law and Justice, the national conservative party that governed Poland from 2015-23. The poll showed it with nearly 34%. The far-right Confederation party was in third place in the exit poll, winning nearly 12% for a strong showing.