Carlos Uriarte Sánchez
Vice-President of the European Coudenhove-Kalergi Society
Five years after the last European Parliament elections and despite the fears and false predictions of some analysts, perhaps fuelled by disinformation campaigns interested in a weak European Union, a strong alliance of the traditional pro-European families, namely the European People’s Party (EPP), the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D) and the Renew Europe Party (RE), has re-formed.
In Spain, the People’s Party won the elections with 22 MEPs, followed by the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party with 20 out of a total of 61 MEPs. The remaining 19 deputies were divided among 7 parties. Almost 65% of Spaniards voted in favour of the two main pro-European families in our country, the PP and the PSOE, which shows that there is a strong Europeanism in Spain.
These latest elections have been very important not only because they have led to a renewal of leadership in the different European institutions, especially in the European Parliament, but also because of the impact they will have on the election of the President of the European Commission, the composition of the College of Commissioners and the appointment of the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy – Vice-President of the European Commission. All these appointments will have to be confirmed by the European Parliament and will have a decisive impact on the legislative and political direction of the EU for the five-year period 2024-2029.
Despite initial pessimism about the polarisation between pro-European and anti-European forces, the results were better than expected and, out of a total of 720 seats, the Group of the European People’s Party (Christian Democrats) won 188 MEPs with 26.11% of the vote; the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament with 18.89% of the vote and 136 MEPs; the Renew Europe Group with 10.69% of the votes and 77 MEPs, if we also include other pro-European forces such as the Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance with 7.36% of the votes and 53 seats, we can affirm a clear victory of the forces in favour of the process of European construction. Analysis of these data shows that the EPP, S&D, Renew Europe and Greens/EFA together represent 454 MEPs (63.05% of the vote), which is a large absolute majority of pro-European forces compared to other groups considered Eurosceptic or wanting a different Europe (Patriots for Europe 84 MEPs and 11.67% of the vote); European Conservatives and Reformists Group (ECR) with 78 MEPs and 10.83% of the vote; Confederal Group of the European United Left (GUE/NGL) with 46 MEPs and 6.39% of the vote; the Europe of Sovereign Nations Group with 25 seats and 3.47% of the vote and the Non-attached Group with 33 MEPs and 4.58% of the vote.
The EPP remains the largest party in the European Parliament and the new President of the European Parliament will continue to be Roberta Metsola, who belongs to this political family. Estonia’s Prime Minister Kaja Kallas of the Renew Europe Party resigned on 23 July when she was appointed head of European diplomacy, a post she will take up at the end of the year. And the former Portuguese prime minister, the socialist António Costas, who, following his party’s good result in his country, which is one of only three in which the socialist party won, has been proposed by the heads of state and government of the 27 member states of the European Union at the European Council meeting for the post of president of the European Council to replace the current Belgian, Charles Michell. All these appointments are the result of a legislative pact concluded by the EPP, S&D and Renew Europe groups after the recent European elections in 2024.
Perhaps the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Melloni, whose country represents the third largest economy in the EU, should have been included in this whole process of deliberation and agreement on the renewal of the leadership of the main political institutions of the European Union. After all, Europe must be united in its diversity. Therefore, it is always better to integrate than to divide or isolate, especially at this time of uncertainty in the European integration project: the eternal debate continues about more deepening or more enlargement, the postponed institutional reforms to make the EU more operational and effective (for example, by abolishing unanimity in Council votes if we want to make progress in policies such as foreign, security and defence). We are talking about the fact that Italy is also one of the founding countries of the EU. Italy’s pro-European engagement with different visions, for example in dealing with migration, can lead to new consensus-based solutions. This could serve as an incentive for other political groups considered Eurosceptic to join the common project.
Ultimately, the future of the European construction process will depend to a large extent on the ability of new leaders to build consensus and effectively address citizens’ concerns. The climate crisis, economic recovery, migration management and external relations will remain key issues on the EU’s political agenda. In the face of these complex and evolving challenges, these elections provide an excellent opportunity to renew democratic engagement and to strengthen European unity by making it more resilient to future challenges. In addition, we should not forget enlargement to the Western Balkans and other states that currently have candidate status. These include Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia. It will also be crucial to involve Eurosceptic forces in decisions on these challenges so that they can gradually take them on board and make them their own. Europe will not only be what its institutions and member states want it to be, but above all what its citizens want it to be. To achieve this, we must build a genuine European democracy which, to paraphrase Stefan Zweig, enables all European citizens to make Europe the homeland of our choice. Europe must be able to provide us with a sense of belonging that enriches us as citizens and enriches our Europe. European patriotism will always be necessarily inclusive as opposed to nationalism which is exclusionary and only leads to war.
This European future will also depend on the commitment of each European State and on maintaining unity and solidarity among all. In a democracy, differences are legitimate, because Europe is diverse, but all these differences must be based on loyalty to a common project, where it must be clear to all Europeans that what unites us is much more important than what divides us, that unity and solidarity are much better than irrelevance and nothingness in an increasingly complex and changing multipolar world, which continually calls into question democratic values, freedom and peace in our Europe. In my opinion, in this electoral analysis, the main problem at the moment in the European Union is to be found in France. It is precisely in France that Marie Le Pen’s extreme right-wing party won the most votes in the elections to the European Parliament. This was the first warning, which was fortunately not confirmed in the French parliamentary elections. The National Front did not obtain a parliamentary majority to form a government. The French government at the request of the President of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron, has remained in office awaiting the conclusion of the Paris Olympics. Under the leadership of Emmanuel Macron, consultations are underway with the aim of achieving a national unity of forces that could defend France’s republican democratic values and Europeanism. After all, France is the EU’s second largest economy. Emmanuel Macron will have to achieve the broadest possible consensus between centrist and pro-European positions far from the extremes. The aim is to guarantee France’s stability on the basis of common sense and a serious policy far removed from the populist recipes of the extreme left and the extreme right. Such stability would be the best for France and for Europe as a whole. We Spaniards must recover those values of dialogue and consensus that inspired our constitution in order to overcome the political and institutional crisis in which we find ourselves. Let us hope that France does not repeat Spain’s mistakes.
