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Summary
- Results are due for the European Parliament elections for all 28 EU member states
- Official results are expected from 22:00 BST (23:00 CET), after final polls close
- Countries have voted since Thursday but no results have yet been announced
- 751 MEPs will be elected to serve a five-year term
- Under UK law, the BBC cannot report details of exit polls
Live Reporting
By David Molloy and Paul Kirby
All times stated are UK
Macron v Le Pen – Again
Copyright: Getty Images
In France, Marine Le Pen believes her National Rally party has had a good night against President Emmanuel Macron’s ruling party, based on exit polls she’s been looking at.
“It’s a vote for France and for
the people. It is good news and it is vital for a country that has been
floating for months in confusion,” she said.Mrs Le Pen ran against Emmanuel Macron in the 2017 presidential election – and lost, rebranding her National Front party – and it seems to have paid off.
The leader of Mr Macron’s Renaissance alliance, Nathalie Loiseau, has given a defensive rebuttal, saying that two years since winning the election against Mrs Le Pen “the presidential majority shows it can hold its own”.
“The fight is not over, we will lead it in the
European Parliament to stop the nationalists from weakening France,” she said.Keeping an eye out for a Green surge
Call it the Greta Thunberg effect – or just concern about the environment – but the experts have been looking out for changes in the Green vote across Europe.
In Germany, this Green MEP is very excited about the exit polls she’s seen:
And look how happy the Greens in France are – the leader of the Green EELV party has tweeted this video of some very happy supporters:
Greek PM must resign, says opposition leader
Copyright: EPA
Image caption: Conservative leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis casts his vote Greece’s conservative opposition leader, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, is celebrating – insisting he has beaten Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras in the European Parliament vote.
You may remember that left-wing leader Alexis Tsipras has been in power since the bailout crisis came to a head in 2015.
“It is obvious that the Greek people have withdrawn their
confidence in this government,” says Mr Mitsotakis, leader of New Democracy.Greeks are set to vote later this year, and for Mr Mitsotakis that can’t come soon enough.
“The prime minister must assume
his responsibilities. He must resign and the country should hold
national elections as soon as possible.”- the last time European-wide turnout was over 50% was in 1994.
But last weekend 12 parties gathered for a landmark rally, including Marine Le Pen.
Many commentators expect the group to do well and increase the far-right’s power in the European Parliament. However, things aren’t looking quite so good for one of the leaders, Dutch anti-Islam politician Geert Wilders. One of his own Freedom Party senators, Dannij van der Sluijs, said on Friday after seeing exit polls, that Mr Wilders should step down. “I think his time is past,” he said.
But they’re celebrating tonight based on exit polls they’ve seen.
Copyright: Reuters
The European Union’s top job is up for grabs…
What’s a Spitzenkandidat?
A reminder that these elections will also have an impact on who will become the next European Commission president.
Throughout the past few weeks, candidates from the main parties, known as Spitzenkandidaten, have been campaigning across Europe.
Our Brussels reporter Adam Fleming explains the process below – but there’s also a chance that the national leaders might abandon this process and choose an outside favourite instead.
Video content
Results night in The Hague
A long night begins in Brussels…
Copyright: Reuters
Initial results and projections will be announced from the European Parliament in Brussels, where MEPs hoping to keep their jobs and the press alike can watch the contest unfold on the big screen.
The elections, explained
A word on how the BBC reports election results
Voting began on Thursday in the UK and the Netherlands, then continued across the EU.
But voting is still ongoing in several European countries where
polling day is Sunday.
UK election law prevents the BBC, along with other UK broadcasters,
from reporting details of campaigning or predictions of results until all polls
have closed.
We’ll still bring you reaction from around Europe –
from those parties that think they have done well and those who don’t – until the official
results are released.
You can read more about the BBC’s election coverage rules here.
Build-up and reaction to European election results
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