Credits: picture alliance/dpa
Spotlight
The EU after the European elections
The 2024 European Parliament elections were a pivotal moment in shaping the political landscape of the European Union for the next five years. While far-right and right-wing parties won more voters and seats than ever, their real impact on the political and policy direction of the European Union remains to be seen. One trend that poses a major challenge for the bloc, however, is low voter participation – while the turnout was the highest in 30 years, almost half of EU voters did not cast a ballot this time. Moreover, with several European countries still on the waiting list to join the EU, the direction of the EU’s enlargement policy is being closely watched.
This EU Elections Spotlight examines how the outcome of the elections will affect these aspects of EU decision-making and policy-making. It also looks at the varying levels of turnout across member states in this year’s elections, and takes a look at the future of the bloc’s enlargement policy. In addition to these analyses, our video gives an overview of the results and what experts have to say about the upcoming years.
The EU Elections Spotlight “The EU after the European elections’’ is available in English, German, French and Spanish.
Video: Shaping the EU’s future for the next five years
According to experts, the EU will not change as drastically as expected ahead of the 2024 European Parliament elections, but the outcome will to some extent alter the political landscape and potential policy directions of the EU over the next five years.
To dive deeper into the consequences of the EU elections for the future of the Union, the European Newsroom spoke to Stefan Lehne, Senior Fellow at Carnegie Europe and Žiga Faktor, Deputy Director and Head of the Brussels office at Europeum.
To what extent could the EU change direction?
Right-wing on the rise: will it change the tone of the EU?
Italy, France, Germany, Austria: in a number of EU countries, right-wing and far-right parties made significant gains in the 2024 European elections. But will their increased presence have an impact on the direction of EU policy in Brussels?
Voter turnout in European Parliament elections remains low
Just over half of EU voters cast their ballots in the June European elections, according to the European Parliament. With turnout rates varying between the bloc’s member states, participation in EU-wide elections remains lower than in respective national parliamentary elections.
Žiga Faktor: EU elections will have little impact on enlargement policy
In an interview with the Serbian news agency Tanjug, the Deputy Director and Head of the Brussels office of Europeum, Žiga Faktor, assessed the extent to which the European Union’s enlargement prospects will be affected by the outcome of the recent EU-wide elections.
Right-wing on the rise: will it change the tone of the EU?
Italy, France, Germany, Austria: in a number of EU countries, right-wing and far-right parties made significant gains in the 2024 European elections. But will their increased presence have an impact on the direction of EU policy in Brussels?
Voter turnout in European Parliament elections remains low
Just over half of EU voters cast their ballots in the June European elections, according to the European Parliament. With turnout rates varying between the bloc’s member states, participation in EU-wide elections remains lower than in respective national parliamentary elections.
Žiga Faktor: EU elections will have little impact on enlargement policy
In an interview with the Serbian news agency Tanjug, the Deputy Director and Head of the Brussels office of Europeum, Žiga Faktor, assessed the extent to which the European Union’s enlargement prospects will be affected by the outcome of the recent EU-wide elections.