2024 European Parliament election

In the previous election, held on 23–26 May 2019, in terms of the political groups in the Parliament, they resulted in the EPP Group and S&D suffering significant losses, while the liberal/centrist (Renew), the Greens/EFA and ID made substantial gains, while ECR and The Left had small reductions in their representation. The European People's Party, led by Manfred Weber, won the most seats in the European Parliament, but was then unable to secure support from other parties for Weber as candidate for president of the Commission. After initial deadlock, the European Council decided to nominate Ursula von der Leyen as a compromise candidate to be the new Commission President, and the European Parliament elected von der Leyen with 383 votes (374 votes needed). The Commission as a whole was then approved by the European Parliament on 27 November 2019, receiving 461 votes. The 2019 election saw an increase in the turnout, when 50.7% of eligible voters had cast a vote compared with 42.5% of the 2014 election. This was the first time that turnout had increased since the first European Parliament election in 1979. In 2024, the Eurobarometer data showed that 71% of Europeans said they are likely to vote in June, 10% higher than those who said they would in 2019. Since the last European-wide election, the right has continued to rise across Europe, remaining, however, split, mainly by the Russian invasion of Ukraine and Russian relations issue. The centre-right EPP has "raised eyebrows" among some commentators for its efforts to charm parties in the ECR to create a broad conservative block, which could upset the long-standing status-quo that has seen the EPP share power with the centre-left S&D and the centrist Renew Group. Qatargate The Qatargate corruption scandal, which began in December 2022, had destabilized the European Parliament following the arrest of several MEPs including Marc Tarabella; Andrea Cozzolino and Eva Kaili who was stripped of her vice presidency. Other suspects in the case include Francesco Giorgi, the parliamentary assistant of MEP Andrea Cozzolino, Pier Antonio Panzeri, founder of the Fight Impunity NGO; Niccolo Figa-Talamanca, head of the No Peace Without Justice NGO; and Luca Visentini, head of the International Trade Union Confederation. Following the scandal, the European Parliament revised its rules of procedure and its code of conduct in September 2023. Hungary The European Parliament views Hungary as a "hybrid regime of electoral autocracy" since 2022 and considers Hungary according to Article 7.1 of the Treaty on European Union in clear risk of a serious breach of the Treaty on European Union. In January 2024, a majority of European Parliament MEPs voted for a resolution demanding that the EU Council considers that Hungary be stripped of its EU voting rights under Article 7 of the Treaty. == Date of the election ==

The dates chosen for the elections conflicted with a long weekend in Portugal, where Portugal Day, a national holiday, was celebrated on 10 June, which was expected to suppress turnout. Despite an attempt by Portuguese leaders to find a compromise, no change was made to the default date of 6–9 June, which required unanimity to be changed. == Electoral system ==

Elections to the European Parliament are regulated by the Treaty on European Union, Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and the Act concerning the election of the members of the European Parliament by direct universal suffrage (the Electoral Act). The Electoral Act states that the electoral procedure is governed by the national provisions in each member state, subject to the provisions of the act. Elections are conducted by direct universal suffrage by proportional representation using either a list system or single transferable vote. New provisions included a mandatory 2% threshold for countries with more than 35 seats and rules to prevent voters from voting in multiple countries. After the Act was adopted by the Council following consent given by the European Parliament in July 2018, not all member states ratified the Act prior to the 2019 elections, which took place under the old rules. As of 2025, the reform has yet to be ratified by Spain; Cyprus and Germany only ratified in 2023/2024. On 3 May 2022, the European Parliament voted to propose a new electoral law, which would contain provisions for electing 28 seats on transnational lists. As of 2024, this reform has not been approved by the Council, which must approve it unanimously, meaning the election will be conducted under the 1976 Electoral Act as amended in 2002. Apportionment As a result of Brexit, 27 seats from the British delegation were distributed to other countries in January 2020 (those elected in 2019, but not yet seated took their seats). The other 46 seats were abolished with the total number of MEPs decreasing from 751 to 705. A report in the European Parliament proposed in February 2023 to modify the apportionment in the European Parliament and increase the number of MEPs from 705 to 716 in order to adapt to the development of the population and preserve degressive proportionality. It was passed in the plenary in June 2023. On 13 September 2023, the European Parliament consented to this decision, which was adopted by the European Council on 22 September 2023. Electoral system by country ==Lead candidates==

Spitzenkandidat system In the run-up to the 2014 European Parliament elections a new informal system was unveiled for the selection of the European Commission president (known colloquially as the Spitzenkandidat system) dictating that whichever party group gained the most seats (or the one able to secure the support of a majority coalition) would see their candidate become president of the Commission. In 2014, the candidate of the largest group, Jean-Claude Juncker, was eventually nominated and elected as Commission president. European party leaders aimed to reintroduce the system in 2019, with them selecting lead candidates and organizing a televised debate between those candidates. In the aftermath of the election German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen was chosen as Commission President, even though she had not been a candidate prior to the election, while Manfred Weber, lead candidate for the EPP, which had gained the most seats, was not nominated as he was unable to secure support from any other party. Following this appointment of a Commission president who had not been a Spitzenkandidat, some called for the system to be abandoned, while others called for it to be revived in the 2024 elections. In 2023, multiple political parties at the European level announced their intentions to nominate a main candidate. ECR and ID have rejected doing so. Overview of party candidates for Commission president in 2024 European People's Party The centre-right EPP held its congress in Bucharest on 6–7 March 2024 to elect its presidential candidate and adopt its election programme. Nominees required the backing of their own member party and not more than two other EPP member parties from EU countries, with nominations closing on February 21. On 19 February 2024, Ursula von der Leyen announced her intention to run, supported by the CDU. On 7 March von der Leyen was elected presidential candidate with 400 votes in favour, 89 against and 10 blank, out of the 737 EPP delegates at the EPP congress. Among others, it is believed that the French and Slovenian delegations voted against. Party of European Socialists The centre-left PES held its congress in Rome on 2 March. Nominees required the backing of nine PES full member parties or organisations, with nominations closing on 17 January. On 18 January, the PES announced that the Luxembourgish European Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights Nicolas Schmit was the sole nominee to meet the nominating requirements. He was then nominated on 2 March during the party congress, along with the adoption of the election programme. Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party The ALDE party held its extraordinary congress in Brussels on 20–21 March 2024. On 7 March 2024, following months of speculation, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas announced that she had rejected the offer from ALDE to be the party's Spitzenkandidat. Luxembourg's former Prime Minister Xavier Bettel announced that he is not interested in the post either. On 11 March, the German FDP nominated Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann to become presidential candidate. She was then elected on March 20 during the party congress, along with the adoption of the election programme. European Democratic Party During the 8 March 2024 Convention in Florence, the European Democratic Party nominated Sandro Gozi as its lead candidate and approved its election programme. European Green Party During the 2–4 February 2024 congress in Lyon, the European Green Party elected Terry Reintke and Bas Eickhout as its two presidential candidates and adopted its election programme. Nominees were Bas Eickhout, Elīna Pinto, Terry Reintke, Benedetta Scuderi. European Free Alliance In October 2023, the congress of the European Free Alliance elected Maylis Roßberg and Raül Romeva as its presidential candidates, and adopted its election programme. Party of the European Left During the 24–25 February 2024 congress in Ljubljana, the PEL elected Walter Baier as its presidential candidate and adopted its election programme. European Christian Political Movement In a meeting held on 24 February 2024, the European Christian Political Movement appointed party president Valeriu Ghilețchi as its lead candidate for the European Commission. European Pirate Party At its General Assembly in Luxembourg in January 2024, the European Pirate Party nominated Marcel Kolaja and Anja Hirschel as lead candidates. Volt Europa On 27 November 2023, Volt Europa adopted its European election programme at its General Assembly in Paris. During the 6–7 April 2024 campaign launch event in Brussels the party elected German MEP Damian Boeselager and Dutch MEP Sophie in 't Veld as its lead candidates. Regarding which European Parliament group to join after the elections, Boeselager said he was "open to discussions" between remaining in Greens/EFA or joining Renew Europe in due course. To emphasise its demand for transnational lists, Volt Europa also presented a symbolic transnational list for the election alongside its leading candidates. == Issues ==

Economy Climate change Foreign policy Immigration Immigration was cited by Politico as a key issue in elections in several countries, including Austria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland and Sweden. Potential enlargement Various sources wrote that an increased influence of right-wing and far-right parties in the European Parliament could derail Ukrainian accession, as polling showed low support for EU enlargement in countries where such parties have power. Exceptions were Poland's Law and Justice supporting Ukrainian accession, and Hungary's Fidesz—a party highly sceptical of Ukraine—being in favour of bids from Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, two countries with governments favourable to Russia. == Campaign ==

The future of Ursula von der Leyen Ursula von der Leyen, the current European Commission president, did not formally announce her intention to stand for a second term until February 2024. This led to speculation about other potential EPP candidates, such as president of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola. However, on 19 February 2024, von der Leyen announced her intention to seek a second term. implicitly accepting the prospect of von der Leyen, who within Germany hails from the opposition CDU party, becoming Commission president again, depending on the election results. Otherwise, the German government coalition agreement grants the right to nominate the next German EU Commissioner to the Greens, provided the Commission president is not from Germany. The future of Charles Michel In January 2024, Charles Michel announced he would step down early as president of the European Council to run for the European Parliament instead. This would have meant that European Union leaders would potentially discuss his successor in the summer. His mandate had been to set to expire in November 2024. For this unanticipated decision Michel was criticised by EU officials and diplomats. He was criticised by his political ally Sophie in 't Veld who questioned his "credibility". This timing was further criticised for potential disruptions it could cause, as Article 2(4) of the European Council's Rules of Procedure provide that, if its President leaves office early, he "shall be replaced, where necessary until the election of his or her successor, by the member of the European Council representing the Member State holding the six-monthly Presidency of the Council". This would have been the Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, whose country would be scheduled to take over the rotating presidency of the European Council on 1 July. On 26 January 2024, Michel withdrew his candidacy and thus delayed his departure. Russian influence scandal On 27 March, the Czech Republic sanctioned the news site Voice of Europe, claiming that the site is part of a network for pro-Russian influence. The following day, Belgian Prime Minister De Croo, referring to the sanctions during a debate in the Belgian parliament, said that Russia had targeted MEPs, but also paid them. On 2 April, the Czech news portal Denik N reported, citing several ministers, that there are audio recordings of the German far-right politician Petr Bystron (MP, AfD) that incriminate him of having accepted money. On 12 April, it became known that the Belgian public prosecutor's office is investigating whether European politicians were paid to spread Russian propaganda. In addition to Bystron, the investigation is also targeting Dutch MEP Marcel de Graaff (FvD) and German MEP Maximilian Krah (AfD). Ukrainian politician and businessman Viktor Medvedchuk, who is close to Russian President Vladimir Putin, is believed to be the man behind Voice of Europe. Future European Parliament groups Ahead of the 2024 European Parliament election, National Rally spokespeople Jordan Bardella and Caroline Parmentier announced they would part ways with Alternative for Germany (AfD) after the election and not include the AfD in the ID group due to controversial statements on Nazi Germany made by AfD lead candidate Maximilian Krah in an interview and allegations of Chinese espionage influence on the party. Italy's Lega and the Czech SPD backed the position taken by the National Rally, but Vlaams Belang declined to support expulsion of the AfD from the ID group or rule out further cooperation with the AfD, while criticising Krah's remarks. The Danish People's Party conditioned future cooperation with the AfD on Krah's exclusion from the ID group. The AfD was expelled from the group on 23 May. After the European elections, there are often changes or creation of new political groups by the national parties in the European Parliament. This concerns both the new parties that have not yet announced which group they will be part of, and the parties already present in the European Parliament who choose to change group at the beginning of a new legislature. Several news outlets have speculated on the possibility of a new group guided by the German Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht party, created in January 2024. This 'left-conservative' and eurosceptic group could also include La France Insoumise, the Five Star Movement, ANO 2011, Course of Freedom, Direction – Social Democracy, Voice – Social Democracy, the Lithuanian Regions Party, For Stability!, and Together for Catalonia. After the expulsion of the AfD from ID, it is uncertain where its MEPs will be part of a group after the election. On 30 May, RTL Hungary reported that MHM and AfD were considering forming a new group. This 'far-right' and eurosceptic group could include also Niki and Republic Movement. Debates 29 April (Maastricht, Netherlands) The first debate was held on Monday, 29 April 2024 from 19:00 to 20:30 CET at the Theater aan het Vrijthof in Maastricht, Netherlands. All ten registered European political parties were invited to the debate. 21 May (Brussels, Belgium) The second debate was held on Tuesday, 21 May 2024 from 17:00 to 18:15 in Brussels, Belgium. 23 May (Brussels, Belgium) The third debate was held on Thursday, 23 May 2024 from 15:00 to 17:00 CET at the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium. It was hosted by the European Broadcasting Union together with the European Parliament and it was broadcast on public service media channels and online platforms members. The debate questions focused on six main topics: Economy and Jobs, Defence and Security, Climate and Environment, Democracy and Leadership, Migration and Borders, Innovation and Technology. == Voting advice applications ==

Several voting advice applications at the European level have been developed to help voters choose their candidates. Some of these applications could collect user data for research or commercial purpose. • EUROMAT allows users to compare their positions on 20 statements with the answers given by the European political parties. The result is presented as a percentage of agreement with each party. At the end, users can see the stances of each group. The EUROMAT was created as a joint project of the NGOs Pulse of Europe and Polis 180 and the blog Der (europäische) Föderalist and is available in eight languages. • Palumba is an application, developed by an association of young professionals, offers 27 questions to be swiped 'strongly agree', 'midly agree', 'strongly against', 'midly against', or 'neutral'. Definitions and contextualisations are provided for each statement. The application provides the result in the form of a percentage of agreement for each European group and displays the closest national parties as well as a voter profile, with a user interface echoing the Spotify Wrapped format. The application is available on Android and iPhone and is translated in over 20 languages (including regional dialects) The non-partisan initiative helped over 170,000 young voters, with the support of several European Union institutions, foundations and non-governmental organizations (Erasmus Student Network, Oxfam, European Youth Forum). On February 6, 2025, Palumba is announced as one of the 5 global winners in theYoung Innovators category of the World Summit Awards. • VoteMatch.eu is a comprehensive collection of VAAs, with a unique application tailored for each member state. This application first matches users with political parties within their own country. While answering the questions, users can see the stances of the national parties (but not all, it depends on the country) and, in some countries, their arguments. This is because votematch.eu aggregate VVA proposed by external actors at the national level. After this initial matching and because each VAA share at least 15 questions, users can compare their results with those in other member states. The overall platform was developed by German bpb and Dutch ProDemos. • VoteTracker.eu allows users to visualise the votes of the outgoing MEPs on 18 selected votes, and to find the MEPs who best match their convictions. The website allows MEP to submit explanations of their stances. • EuroMPmatch is a collaborative project between EUmatrix and the European University Institute aimed at enhancing citizen engagement in EU policy-making. By analyzing MEPs' actual voting records on 20 key topics, the project offers citizens a quiz to determine alignment with MEPs, parties and political groups. It has been translated in 25 languages. • EU&I, developed by the European University Institute in Florence, offers 30 questions to which the user can answer from 'completely agree' to 'completely disagree'. They can then give more weight to certain questions. The result is presented as a percentage of agreement with each national party. The site has been translated into 20 languages. They had more than 150,000 users. • Adeno is an application that allows users to discover the European group that best matches their convictions through 100 questions (20 in the express mode) covering 10 themes. The application also offers a multiplayer mode. It is available on Android and iPhone. • The Bloom association, whose goal is to fight the destruction of the ocean, the climate and livelihoods, ranked the European groups both globally and at the national scale on 4 issues: ocean, climate, biodiversity and environmental justice. The page is available in 5 languages. ==Opinion polling and seat projections==

Polling aggregations Seat projections Europe Elects, Der Föderalist and Politico Europe have been presenting seat projections throughout the legislative period. Other institutes started presenting data during the election campaign. All projections make their national-level data transparent, except Politico Europe, which only presents aggregate EU-level data. Popular vote projections Europe Elects has been presenting popular vote projections throughout the legislative period. Other institutes started presenting data during the election campaign. == Voter turnout ==

About 357 million people were eligible to vote in 27 countries. Of those, around 182 million people voted. This represents 51.05% of the total eligible voters, the highest percentage of voter turnout since 1994. == Results ==

European parties Affiliation to the parties at the time of the election on 6–9 June 2024. {{Election results MEPs who lost their seats Groups formed Composition of the groups at the time of the first plenary assembly on 16–19 July 2024 Vote totals By country This shows the composition of the European Parliament at the constitutive session. == Aftermath ==

Reactions Before all results were declared, President of France Emmanuel Macron announced the dissolution of the French National Assembly, calling a snap election on 30 June. Parliament formation After the election, the political groups of the European Parliament reconstitute themselves and recruit new members. The first plenary session of the European Parliament was held on 16–19 July. European People's Party On 18 June 2024, Hungary's Christian Democratic People's Party (KDNP) officially left the European People's Party, in response to the group's decision to admit the Tisza Party (TISZA), also from Hungary, in their ranks. Elected MEPs from the Netherlands' Farmer–Citizen Movement (BBB) and New Social Contract (NSC), Czech Republic's Mayors and Independents (STAN), Denmark's Liberal Alliance (LA) and Germany's Family Party also submitted requests to join the EPP Group. European Conservatives and Reformists On 19 June 2024, the European Conservatives and Reformists group announced in an official press release that elected MEPs from Romania's Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR), as well as former members of France's Reconquête (including Marion Maréchal), had joined the group. As a result, the ECR became the third-largest faction in the European Parliament, overtaking Renew Europe in the process. However, on 5 July, Spain's Vox announced their intention to leave the ECR, in order to join the new Patriots for Europe alliance; as a result, the group's membership dropped to 78 MEPs, just one ahead of Renew. Greens/EFA In June 2024, it was reported that five elected MEPs from Volt Europa, two of whom from the Netherlands and three from Germany, had begun negotiations both with Renew Europe and the Greens/EFA to join their respective ranks on a stable basis. On June 20, the Volt MEPs released a joint press statement recommending to join Greens/EFA, which they perceived as closer to their stance against right-wing populism, while expressing concerns over the presence of parties such as Czech Republic's ANO 2011 and the Netherlands' People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD)—which had agreed to join a coalition with the right-wing populist Party for Freedom (PVV) to form the Schoof cabinet—in the ranks of Renew. Renew Europe On 21 June 2024, Czech Republic's ANO 2011 announced their decision to unilaterally withdraw from the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party, as well as Renew Europe, due to "different positions" on the European Green Deal and the EU's migration policy. On 2 July, Irish MEP Michael McNamara, who had been elected as an independent candidate, officially became a member of Renew. The Left On 3 July 2024, the co-spokesperson of The Left, Manon Aubry, announced that Italy's Five Star Movement (M5S), who were previously part of Non-Inscrits and failed to create a new group with Germany's BSW after the election, had submitted an official request to join the group, who had already admitted the MEPs from Italian Left following the election. Despite initial concerns, mainly related to the M5S's past alliances with the UK Independence Party in the Eighth European Parliament, and Lega during the First Conte government, In the process, the M5S became the second-most-represented party within the GUE/NGL group, behind only France's La France Insoumise. Identity and Democracy Following the announcement of the new Patriots for Europe alliance, Identity and Democracy saw several member parties leave the formation, or express interest in doing so, with examples including Portugal's Chega, On 8 July 2024, the group officially disbanded, following the establishment of the PfE group in the European Parliament. Patriots for Europe On 30 June 2024, the Prime Minister of Hungary and leader of the Fidesz party, Viktor Orbán, publicly announced his intention to form a new parliamentary group, named Patriots for Europe, together with Austria's Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) and Czech Republic's ANO 2011; the alliance needed support from parties from at least four other EU countries in order to be recognized as an official group in the European Parliament. while Italy's Lega also publicly expressed interest in joining the new group. On 5 July, Spain's Vox announced their intention to enter Patriots for Europe, after leaving the ECR group, The following day, both Denmark's Danish People's Party (DF) and Belgium's Vlaams Belang switched from ID to the new group; as a result, Patriots for Europe met the EU Parliament's minimum threshold for formal recognition. as a result, the RN became the biggest delegation within the alliance, having elected 30 MEPs. Bardella was appointed as the president of Patriots for Europe, while Vistisen was nominated as their chief whip. On 10 July, it was reported that a new parliamentary group, named Europe of Sovereign Nations (ESN), had officially formed, having met the minimum requirements to get formal recognition within the European Parliament. The group was officially launched later the same day; MEPs from Germany's AfD (the largest party in the group), Poland's Confederation, Bulgaria's Revival, France's Reconquête (excluding the former members who had left the party to join the ECR), Czech Republic's SPD, Hungary's Our Homeland Movement, Slovakia's Republika and Lithuania's People and Justice Union, all joined ESN, bringing the group to a total amount of 25 MEPs. Despite previous speculations, Romania's S.O.S. Romania was also excluded from ESN, due to some of the involved delegations expressing concerns about the party's declared goal to "redesign Eastern Europe's map" to establish the so-called "Greater Romania", a hypothetical Nation-state roughly resembling the Kingdom of Romania in the interwar period. On 27 June, during the European Council meeting, national leaders proposed Ursula von der Leyen (EPP) as candidate for President of the European Commission, considered Kaja Kallas (ALDE) to be the appropriate candidate for High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and elected António Costa (PES) as President of the European Council. On 18 July 2024, Ursula von der Leyen was re-elected president of the European Commission in a secret ballot, with 401 votes in favour, 284 against, and 22 cast blank or invalid votes. == See also ==