The EU election The result in Europe

Ytterhögern strongly forward - National gathering largest

Parties that are far to the right are advancing strongly in the EU elections, according to the first preliminary results from the European Parliament. The far-right's success is above all a result of success in the EU's two largest countries, Germany and France.

The right-wing radical French party National Gathering looks set to become the largest in the entire EU Parliament. Marine Le Pen's party, like the AFD in Germany, belongs to the ID group in parliament. In the preliminary results, ID gets 58 mandates, compared to 49 in the last election.

The right-wing group ECR provisionally receives 72 mandates.

One must then add that many of the groupless and new parties are believed to take place in ID or ECR.

At the same time, it is clear that the Christian-democratic and conservative party group EPP, which includes Sweden's M and KD, will continue to be the largest in the next EU parliament.

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Italy last to close – Meloni heads for expected victory

The far-right Brothers of Italy are heading for an expected victory in the Italian EU elections, according to polling stations. Italy was the last in the Union to close the doors to polling stations at 11 p.m.

Italy's brothers, led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, are expected to get between 26 and 31 percent. Next follows the social democratic Democratic Party at 21–25 percent.

The EU-sceptic right-wing Lega party, which won the 2019 EU election on 34.3 percent, is plummeting to between 8 and 10 percent.

Turnout looks set to be around 50 percent, possibly slightly lower, which is the lowest figure in the country's history.

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von der Leyen celebrates EPP success: "We won, friends"

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen declared victory for her EPP party group during an appearance in Brussels on Sunday evening after the first forecast of the election results was presented.

- This is a good day for the EPP. We won the EU elections, my friends, she said in front of a cheering audience, reports the Euractiv news site.

She also promised to build a "fortress against the extremes from both the right and the left", since the forecast showed that, among other things, ECR and ID on the right seem to have gone strong.

- No majority can be built without EPP. We will stop them. It is absolutely safe.

According to the first forecast of the composition of the European Parliament, the conservative EPP will once again be the largest group with 181 seats, four more than in the last election. Swedish M and KD are also included in EPP.

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Orbán's Fidesz towards victory – but the opposition takes off

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's right-wing nationalist Fidesz party appears headed for an expected victory in Hungary's EU elections. It shows preliminary results on Sunday evening, when just under 45 percent of the votes were counted.

But the victory was not as obvious as Orbán had hoped. The opposition party Tisza, led by government critic Peter Magyar, was second largest at the same time with 31 percent. Magyar is now seen as a real threat to Orbán's 14-year rule, writes Bloomberg.

According to the preliminary results, Fidesz will receive eleven seats, while Tisza will receive seven of Hungary's 21 seats in the European Parliament.

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The EU electionVotes

Analysis: "Trump moment" in the EU could have long-lasting effects

Security, the climate and the economy are at stake when 360 million Europeans go to the polls, write Virginie Malingre and Philippe Jacqué in an analysis for Le Monde.

The EU needs to deal with two parallel wars, global warming, and a US showing a waning interest in Europe. The question is what constellations are formed if the expected right-wing wave comes to pass, the correspondents write.

Can Italy's Giorgia Meloni form a super coalition with parties from all right-wing groups?

"At this stage, no one knows what to expect," they write.

Claudi Perez writes in El País that European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who belongs to the EPP which includes M and KD, sent "winks" to Meloni for a maneuver to the right.

The EPP can also continue to govern with liberal and social democratic parties, if green parties are also included. He likens such a majority to the drink Dry Martini - "shaken, not stirred". No matter what, it will be the votes that decide "the ingredients of the cocktail", he writes.

Several Politico writers believe that the election is a "Trump moment" for Europe, referring to how views classified as extreme in the US have become normalized after the 2016 election. The difference in Europe is that politics also attracts young people to a large extent.

"The arrival of the radical right on the European scene will have a long-lasting impact."