European elections latest: Giorgia Meloni’s party wins EU elections in Italy

Giorgia Meloni has won the European elections in Italy and her party will send the most MEPs to Brussels and Strasbourg.

The hard-Right leader was predicted to lead the Brothers of Italy to victory, which she did, taking a 30 per cent share of the vote, according to one of the final exit polls.

The triumph will cement Ms Meloni’s burgeoning influence in the EU, where she is increasingly courted by centre-Right politicians, including Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president. They seek her party’s support in shaping the bloc’s policy over the next parliament

Her victory, if confirmed, is one of the most high profile in a slew of triumphs for hard-Right leaders across the continent.

Marine Le Pen,  who humiliated Emmanuel Macron in the French vote so badly he called a snap domestic election,  has called on Ms Meloni to form a nationalist coalition after the elections to have more influence in Brussels.

Wherever she lands, Ms Meloni is likely to use her leverage to try and push Europe further to the Right. She has already declared her Rwanda style migrant deal with Albania could be a model for the rest of the EU.

Read below for a wrap of the key moments as the results were announced.

01:25 AM BST

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Thanks for following our live updates of the European elections.

We will continue our coverage of the results and reaction on Monday.

In the meantime, read expert analysis from our correspondents:

• Rise of the Right threatens EU net zero ambitions

• Why Europe is listening to Meloni

• Macron’s great parliamentary gamble could blow up in his face

12:51 AM BST

Macron’s gamble may blow up in his face

Henry Samuel writes from Paris:

By dissolving parliament, Emmanuel Macron has just taken one of the biggest gambles of his relatively short but meteoric political career.

The last head-of-state to do so, Jacques Chirac, famously saw that same gamble blow up in his face in 1997 when he called snap elections only to usher in a Socialist government and end up a lame duck to prime minister Lionel Jospin.

This time, the risk is to see Marine Le Pen’s National Rally come out in front.

Read more: Macron’s great parliamentary gamble could blow up in his face

11:27 PM BST

Orban’s party loses ground

Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban’s Fidesz party lost ground in the EU elections, partial results showed, in what could be its worst-ever score in its 14-year rule.

With more than half of the votes counted, Fidesz came out on top but stood at just below 44 per cent, well down from the 52 per cent it won in the last EU elections in 2019.

Amid a record high voter turnout of more than 50 per cent, the Tisza party of Peter Magyar – who has emerged as Orban’s main challenger – managed to gain almost 31 per cent of the vote, according to partial results.

Fidesz had been forecast to gain 50 per cent of votes, according to polls ahead of the vote.

Describing the EU vote as “an all European pro-peace or pro-war election” as the war in Ukraine rages on, Mr Orban has styled himself as “fighting for peace alone” in the bloc.

“I hope it will be a peace majority as the outcome of this election,” he told journalists outside the polling station earlier Sunday.

11:10 PM BST

Greens are losing ground

11:01 PM BST

Von der Leyen: The centre is holding

Ursula von der Leyen said on Sunday she was confident she could win a new mandate as the European Commission’s president, after initial projections from the European Union showed her centrist European People’s Party (EPP) with the most seats in the EU Parliament.

“Yes, I am confident, but of course I know there is a lot of hard work ahead of me. But I am definitely confident, as far as my running for a second mandate is concerned,” she said.

She also said that some people are trying to weaken Europe. “We will never let that happen. These election results show that the majority of Europeans want a strong Europe,” she said.

She also said that she wants to continue to work with those who are pro-Ukraine.

10:57 PM BST

Rise of the right-wing parties

10:49 PM BST

New provisional results for European parliament

Centre-right European People’s party: 186

Socialists and Democrats: 133

Renew: 82

European Conservatives and Reformists: 70

Far-right Identity and Democracy: 60

Greens: 53

10:48 PM BST

Eurosceptic parties are creeping in

10:30 PM BST

Austrian vote count shows narrow victory for far right

The count of votes cast in Austrian polling stations plus a projection for postal ballots confirmed the far-right Freedom Party won the European Parliament election but by less than had been forecast, national broadcaster ORF said.

The Freedom Party secured 25.5 per cent of the vote, narrowly ahead of the conservative People’s Party (OVP) at 24.7 per cerny and the Social Democrats at 23.3 per cent, ORF said.

10:26 PM BST

EPP celebrates

10:18 PM BST

Spain’s centre-right party wins

Spain’s centre-right People’s Party (PP) came out on top in today’s European election, gaining 22 seats out of the 61 allocated to the country, and dealing a blow to the Socialist-led government of Pedro Sanchez.

Sanchez’s Socialists, spearheaded by energy minister Teresa Ribera, earned 20 seats after a campaign in which the opposition honed in on private corruption allegations against the premier’s wife and an amnesty law for Catalan pro-independence leaders passed just one week before the election.

Far-right Vox finished third with six lawmakers, up from the four it had in the previous legislature.

10:07 PM BST

Italy’s PM Meloni solidifies top spot in EU vote

Italy’s prime minister Giorgia Meloni’s arch-conservative Brothers of Italy group won the most votes in this weekend’s European parliamentary election, exit polls said, confirming its status as Italy’s most popular party.

An exit poll for state broadcaster RAI said Brothers of Italy won between 26-30 per cent of the vote, with the centre-left opposition Democratic Party (PD) coming second with 21-25 per cent.

The other main opposition party, the 5-Star Movement, was seen on 10-14 per cent, while Forza Italia, founded by the late Silvio Berlusconi, was in fourth place on 8.5-10 per cent, potentially beating its old ally, the far-right League, which was on 8-10 per cent.

09:54 PM BST

Slovak PM suffers shock election defeat after assassination attempt

Slovakia’s prime minister Robert Fico has suffered a surprise defeat in EU elections to the opposition liberals, weeks after he was gravely wounded in an assassination attempt, his party said.

Mr Fico’s left-wing nationalist Smer-SD party expressed “congratulations to the winner of the election, Progressive Slovakia” and its new European parliament members, on its Facebook page.

Mr Fico, 59, is an opponent of military aid to Ukraine in its fight against the Russian invasion.

The latest opinion polls had indicated that he was favourite to top the vote, in what was seen as a sign that the assassination bid had driven up support for his party.

Progressive Slovakia (PS) won 27.81 per cent of the votes in Sunday’s election, meaning six seats in the European Parliament, according to results widely reported in Slovak media ahead of their official publication.

Smer-SD won 24.76 per cent, yielding it five seats in the 720-member EU assembly.

Far-right party Republika came third with 12.53 per cent and two seats, the results showed.

09:47 PM BST

Macron’s speech calling for snap election

09:42 PM BST

EPP claims victory

Manfred Weber, the centre-right European People’s party leader, has claimed victory and invited the Social Democrats and Renew Europe to join an alliance.

It is a “good day” day for the EPP, he said.

09:31 PM BST

Reactions to Macron’s call for snap parliamentary elections

Marine Le Pen, France’s hard-right leader 

“I can only welcome this decision, which is in keeping with the logic of the institutions of the 5th Republic. We are ready to take power if the French people have confidence in us in these forthcoming legislative elections. We are ready to put the country back on its feet. We are ready to defend the interests of the French people. We are ready to put an end to mass immigration. We are ready to make the purchasing power of the French people a priority, we are ready to start re-industrialising the country.”

Sandrine Rousseau, senior Green Party lawmaker in French parliament

“Emmanuel Macron is a poker player. We can see that tonight.”

Gerald Darmanin, French interior minister 

“What the president of the Republic has done is to cut the Gordian knot, as a Gaullist, as a courageous person, as a humble person, and he turns to the voters, because in a democracy you always have to turn to the voters and appeal to their intelligence, and the voters are intelligent.”

Raphael Glucksmann, lead MEP candidate in France’s socialist party

“Emmanuel Macron has given in to (National Rally president) Jordan Bardella. This is a very dangerous game to play with democracy and the institutions. I am flabbergasted.”

09:05 PM BST

Polish PM Tusk’s Civic Coalition seen ahead in EU vote

Polish prime minister Donald Tusk’s centrist Civic Coalition (KO) was set to win the European vote, an exit poll showed, taking a step towards establishing itself as the dominant force in the country after a campaign dominated by security concerns.

With war raging in Ukraine and a migrant crisis on the Belarus border, Mr Tusk framed the vote in Poland as a choice between a safe future in a country at the heart of the European Union or a more perilous one if the nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party, known for its conflicts with Brussels, won.

“We have shown that our choices, our efforts, have a much broader dimension than just our national issues ... we have shown that we are a beacon of hope for Europe,” he told supporters after the exit poll results were announced.

“Those in power in Germany have no reason to be happy, and those in France have reason for dramatic sadness,” Mr Tusk said, adding: “Out of the large countries, Poland has shown that democracy triumphs here”.

According to the IPSOS exit poll, KO won 38.2 per cent of votes, ahead of PiS who had 33.9 per cent. KO’s partners in the pro-European coalition government which took power in December, the centre-right Third Way and the Left, got 8.2 per cent and 6.6 per cent respectively. The far-right Confederation party scored 11.9 per cent.

If confirmed, the result would mark the end of a decade-long run of first-place election finishes for PiS.

08:52 PM BST

2019 versus 2024: Right-wing overtakes greens

08:51 PM BST

Turnout across EU at 51 per cent

As it stands, provisional turnout for the European election is at 51 per cent, the European parliament has announced, which is slightly higher than the previous election.

08:33 PM BST

European election results – EPP party remains largest

08:26 PM BST

Le Pen welcomes Macron’s call for snap elections

Marine Le Pen has welcomed Emmanuel Macron’s call for new parliamentary elections after the president’s camp heavily lost to the National Rally in the country’s EU election.

“We are ready to take over the power if the French give us their trust in the upcoming national elections,” she said during a rally.

08:10 PM BST

Flemish nationalists set to retain lead in Belgian parliament

Flemish nationalist party N-VA (New Flemish Alliance) was on course to remain the largest party in Belgium’s parliament as the liberals of Prime Minister Alexander De Croo slumped, setting the country on course for months of challenging coalition talks.

“This is an extremely hard evening for us. We have lost this election”, De Croo said in a first reaction, adding he would take full responsible for the loss.

N-VA appeared to have held off a rise of Vlaams Belang (Flemish Interest), a far-right party that wants to split Belgium and that opinion polls before the election had forecast would be the victor in the Dutch-speaking north of the country.

“Friends, we have won these elections,” N-VA leader Bart De Wever said to his supporters. “And admit it: you didn’t expect that. The polls were bad, the comments in the press were damning, but you never gave up.”

08:08 PM BST

France’s Macron calls for new elections after EU vote

French president Emmanuel Macron has called for new parliamentary elections after suffering a humiliating defeat in the European elections.

Marine Le Pen’s hard-right National rally won 32 per cent of the vote – more than double that of the president’s Renaissance on 15.4 per cent – underlining her credentials as frontrunner for France’s next presidential vote.

“Far right parties... are progressing everywhere in the continent. It is a situation to which I cannot resign myself,” Mr Macron said. “I decided to give you the choice... Therefore I will dissolve the National Assembly tonight.

“This is a serious and weighty decision, but above all it is an act of trust.Confidence in you, my dear compatriots, in the ability of the French people to make the right choice for themselves,” he added.

Mr Macron will remain in power until 2027, but Ms Le Pen’s strong showing, notching a 10-point increase on the last EU election in 2019, will weaken his hold on power. It could also prompt high-level defections from his centrist camp as the succession battle to replace him heats up.

Jordan Bardella, the National Rally’s lead candidate, had earlier called for fresh French parliamentary elections. “Emmanuel Macron is this evening a weakened president,” the 28-year-old said in his victory speech. “The president cannot remain deaf to the message sent by the French tonight.”

Ms Le Pen welcomed Mr Macron’s call, saying: “We are ready to take over the power if the French give us their trust in the upcoming national elections.”

Ms Le Pen and Mr Bardella sought to frame the EU election as a mid-term referendum on Macron’s mandate, tapping into discontent with immigration, crime and a two-year inflation crisis.

With widespread expectations of a bruising loss, government officials sought to downplay the importance of the European poll, pledging to maintain policy focus and arguing that EU elections are a poor predictor of presidential voting.

But the symbolism of the loss is significant, and could have real implications.

The first round will be held on June 30, with a second round on July 7, Mr Macron said in a televised address.

07:55 PM BST

Leader of France’s conservatives rules out forming coalition with Macron’s government

Eric Ciotti, the head of France’s conservative Republicans party on Sunday said he would ‘never’ strike a political alliance with president Emmanuel Macron’s ruling party.

Mr Macron’s camp – which lacks an absolute majority in the French lower house of parliament – was weakened in Sunday’s EU elections in France.

07:54 PM BST

Austrian far right says EU vote win gives it momentum for national race

Austria’s far-right Freedom Party has pledged to take the momentum from its apparent first-ever victory in a European election into this year’s national poll after a forecast said it had won the European vote.

After polling stations in Austria closed, two television channels and news agency APA published a “trend forecast” based on surveys of 3,600 people carried out this week showing the Freedom Party (FPO) came first with 27 per cent, ahead of the ruling conservative People’s Party on 23.5 per cent.

The actual vote count cannot be published until after the last polling stations in the European Union close at 21.00 GMT, but the Austrian trend forecast proved accurate in the last European Parliament election.

“It is an electoral success that is based on let’s say critical positive reform and we now want to bring this positive reform into the parliamentary election,” the FPO’s lead candidate Harald Vilimsky told the national broadcaster. “One election influences the other.”

While Austria is a relatively small country with just 20 seats in the European Parliament, the vote is to some extent a rehearsal for Austria’s parliamentary election later this year. Opinion polls show the FPO has an even larger lead in that race.

07:51 PM BST

Spain’s Sanchez suffers defeat

Spain’s socialist leader Pedro Sanchez suffered defeat at the hands of his centre-Right rivals in the European elections.

Mr Sanchez lost the popular vote in Spain’s general election last July to the Partido Popular but was able to form a left-wing coalition to stay in government.

The PP took 32.4 per cent of the vote compared to the socialists’ 30.2 per cent in a deeply polarised country.

The hard-Right Vox came third, taking 10.4 per cent, ahead of Mr Sanchez’s coalition partners on 6.3 per cent.

07:50 PM BST

European liberals appear to be biggest losers in elections

Emmanuel Macron’s European liberals appeared to be the biggest loser in this year’s European elections, according to official projections published by the EU Parliament on Sunday night.

The predictions put Renew Europe on 82 MEPs, down some 20 seats compared to the make-up of the outgoing parliament.

The Greens looked set to be dealt a heavy blow, losing some 18 MEPs.

The centre-right EPP will likely remain the largest party with 181 seats, further building on their position.

Socialist parties made marginal losses, with the forecast showing them to have only 135 MEPs compared to 139.

07:38 PM BST

In pictures

07:29 PM BST

French far-right party chief urges Macron to call legislative elections

Jordan Bardella, the 28-year-old leader of France’s far-right National Rally (RN) party, on Sunday urged Emmanuel Macron to dissolve parliament and call legislative elections after the president’s alliance suffered a heavy defeat in European elections.

“The president cannot remain deaf to the message given by the French,” Mr Bardella said. “We request that he takes note of this new political situation and goes back to the French people and organises new legislative elections.”

07:12 PM BST

Huge defeat for Macron

Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally was expected to secure more than double the number of votes in a huge defeat for Emmanuel Macron, exit polls showed.

The Eurosceptics were set to take 32 per cent of the vote compared to 15 per cent for the French president’s centrist Renaissance.

Reeling from his coalition’s worst-ever European Parliament election results, Mr Macron will address the nation later tonight.

France is electing 81 members of the European Parliament, which has 720 seats in total.

Exit polls:

• The far-right National Rally, led by Jordan Bardella: 32.4 per cent

• Renaissance, Modem, Horizons, UDI led by Valérie Hayer: 15.2 per cent

• Socialists and Place Publique led by Raphaël Glucksmann: 14.3 per cent

06:50 PM BST

French prisoner escapes after voting in European elections

A prisoner escaped from detention in southern France after casting his ballot in European elections on Sunday, a prison source and prosecutors told AFP.

The prisoner, who was held in a jail in the southern city of Arles, “was on supervised leave” to exercise his right to vote, the source said.

He was accompanied by a probation officer and a prison guard, according to prosecutors and a prison guard union at the Arles prison.

He fled as he was leaving the polling station, at the moment when he was supposed to be getting into a vehicle that was to take him back to the jail, the source said.

The man had initially been sentenced to a three-year term for drug trafficking, then to eight years for pimping, the public prosecutor’s office told AFP.

06:38 PM BST

Germany’s young voters switch from green to AfD

The German green party has dropped 8.5 percentage points since the last election, from 20.5 per cent in 2019 to 12 per cent today, initial polls suggest.

Its losses appear to be particularly pronounced among under-30s, who have shifted toward the far-right AfD and newer parties, the German public broadcaster reported.

06:37 PM BST

AfD campaigners celebrate exit polls

Alternative for Germany (AfD) campaigners jumped in celebration as the results were announced for the European elections on Sunday evening.

The far-right party made gains on their previous performance to take second spot, ahead of Olaf Scholz’s ruling socialists and the Greens, according to exit polls published by the ZDF broadcaster.

“Many thanks to all voters, supporters and campaigners who made this success possible,” the party wrote on X.

Their success comes despite the far-right party effectively abandoning its campaign weeks before the vote after its main candidate became embroiled in a Chinese spy scandal and allegations of Nazi sympathies.

06:27 PM BST

Attention turns to France

Attention has turned to France, the bloc’s second economy after Germany.

Far-right leader Marine Le Pen’s National Rally is predicted to score about 30 per cent, a big jump since five years ago – and double the score of president Emmanuel Macron’s liberals.

In the French city of Lyon, 83-year-old voter Albert Coulaudon told AFP news agency that Mr Macron was getting “mixed up” in too many international issues such as the war in Ukraine. “That scares me,” he said.

Exit polls are expected from France – along with Denmark and Spain – around 8pm.

06:07 PM BST

EU centre right leads in EU election in five EU countries, exit polls show

The centre-right European People’s Party (EPP) was in the lead in European elections in Austria, Cyprus, Germany, Greece and the Netherlands, exit polls form these countries showed on Sunday.

06:05 PM BST

Centre-right GERB projected to win Bulgaria vote

Bulgaria’s center-right GERB party is projected to come first, winning 26.2 per cent of the votes, an Alpha Research exit poll showed.

Reformist We continue the Change (PP) is set to come second with 15.7 per cent.

05:49 PM BST

Forecast for Austria shows far-right in lead

In Austria, the far-right Freedom Party is the likely winner of the ballot, according to a poll based on surveys carried out over the past week and published as voting there closed on Sunday evening.

The far-right Freedom party (FPÖ): 27 per cent

Austrian People’s party: 23.50 per cent

Social Democratic party: 23 per cent

Greens: 10.5 per cent

NEOS: 10.5 per cent

05:48 PM BST

Exit polls for the Netherlands

An estimate has been published for the Netherlands.

Labour/Green Left alliance (PvdA/GL): 21.6 per cent

Geert Wilders’ far-right Freedom party (PVV): 17.7 per cent

People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD): 11.6 per cent

Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA): 9.7 per cent

D66: 8.1 per cent

BBB: 5.3 per cent

05:42 PM BST

In pictures: German exit polls reaction

05:38 PM BST

Right-wing parties set to make gains as voters head to polls

By James Crisp and Joe Barnes

Voters across Europe are casting their ballots in European Parliament elections that are expected to bring gains for Right-wing parties.

The new European Parliament will be able to amend a slew of new EU laws, including legislation to hit Net Zero, which has come under pressure from the cost of living crisis caused by the war in Ukraine.

The centre-Right European People’s Party (EPP) is set to remain the European Parliament’s largest group, putting its candidate to head the European Commission, incumbent Ursula von der Leyen of Germany, in pole position for a second five-year term.

However, she may need support from some Right-wing nationalists, such as Giorgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy, to secure a parliamentary majority, giving the Italian Prime Minister more leverage.

Expected losses by pro-European liberals and Greens, will reduce the majority of the centre-Right and centre-Left, which have long operated in an informal grand coalition to push forward new EU laws.

05:23 PM BST

German SPD accepts ‘hard defeat’

Kevin Kühnert, the German Social Democrats’ general secretary, said that “this is a hard defeat for us today.” He vowed that “we will come back, we will fight our way out of this.”

05:19 PM BST

EU leaders vote

05:15 PM BST

Will Slovakians vote after assassination attempt?

By Joe Barnes and James Crisp in Brussels

Just 22 per cent of Slovaks bothered to vote in the last European elections in 2019, which was the lowest turnout in the whole EU.

Slovakia will be closely watched this year to see if the attempted assassination of prime minister Robert Fico, who blamed the shooting on his political opponents, encourages more voters to head to the ballots.

05:09 PM BST

Blow for Scholz as exit poll shows AFD surge

German chancellor Olaf Scholz’s socialist party looks set to suffer its worst-ever European elections, facing defeat by conservative and hard-right parties in the European elections, according to an exit poll.

Angela Merkel’s CDU and its Bavarian sister party CSU are expected to take 30 per cent of the vote after promising to roll back on the European Union’s green pledges, including a ban on the production of combustion engine vehicles, which is deeply controversial amongst German industry.

The pro-Putin AfD weathered a storm of scandals, including a Chinese spying scandal and alleged Nazi sympathies, for a forecasted 16 per cent of the vote – a five per cent leap in voting compared to their 2019 results.

Whereas, Mr Scholz, whose socialist SPD is the senior party of Germany’s ruling coalition, appeared to only have taken 13.9 per cent of the vote.

The German Greens, who secured 20.5 per cent in 2019, are expected to finish a distant fourth with 12.5 per cent this year, the exit poll carried out on behalf of German broadcaster ZDF suggested.

The blow is expected to be mirrored across Europe with ruling figures like France’s Emmanuel Macron expected to be humbled at the polls by right-wing parties opposed to the EU’s Net Zero targets.

• German CDU/CSU on course to win with 29.5 per cent

• Germany’s Far-Right AFD on 16.5 per cent

• Mr Scholz’s SPD expected to take 14 per cent

• Greens polling at 12 per cent

Germany has 96 of the 720 seats in the new European Parliament, the biggest single share.

05:04 PM BST

How bad is Emmanuel Macron going to get it?

By Joe Barnes and James Crisp in Brussels

Emmanuel Macron is a self-appointed king of Europe, but his coalition, Renaissance, are expected to be on the end of a battering, according to opinion polls carried out before the vote.

Domestic issues, such as row over pension reforms, which sparked nationwide protests, have appeared to hobble the French president’s party.

Ahead of the vote, polls showed them sitting level with the socialists in second and third, but that is most crucially behind Marine Le Pen’s far-right Rassemblement National as the largest party. But will this hold?

04:55 PM BST

In pictures

04:48 PM BST

Is Ursula von der Leyen leaving the Greens behind?

By Joe Barnes and James Crisp in Brussels

Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission’s president, unexpectedly rose to power on the back of her pledge for a new European Green Deal.

But gradually throughout her mandate, the cost of living crunch has led to an unravelling of her policies demanding that the continent of Europe is net zero by 2050.

Under the pressure of conservative allies, such as Italy’s Giorgia Meloni, the German has taken the side of farmers railing against her flagship policies.

There is also speculation that Mrs von der Leyen, also known as “Shotgun Uschi”, turned against her environmentalist side after a wolf killed her pony, Dolly.

04:44 PM BST

Can Nigel Farage’s former man in Brussels get elected?

By Joe Barnes and James Crisp in Brussels

Hermann Kelly, the Reform UK leader’s former spinner in Brussels, is running to become a member of the European Parliament for Ireland.

The Brussels veteran, like his former boss, has tried and failed before to win a seat before, but akin to Mr Farage, he is hoping to capitalise on a loss of confidence in the centre-right to secure the conservative vote.

Mr Kelly is confident, telling The Telegraph that he is the favoured of Ireland’s nationalist candidates, given a recent surge in anti-migration sentiment, highlighted by illegal migrants fleeing through Northern Ireland to escape being sent to Rwanda.

04:36 PM BST

Rise of the Right threatens EU net zero ambitions

By James Crisp, Joe Barnes and Meike Eijsberg

Surging hard-Right parties are plotting to dismantle EU net zero laws after the European elections on Sunday, Green politicians have said.

Nationalist forces will overturn the bloc’s ambition to hit the 2050 zero carbon target in the same way they hardened European migration policy by dragging it to the Right, they said.

“For them, the next horizon, the next battle, is indeed to kill these green, woke policies,” said Philippe Lamberts, the co-president of the European Greens.

“Osmosis” with traditional Right-wing parties was already weakening EU green laws, he said, and could impact on new bills and reviews of existing net zero legislation.

Green parties are predicted to shed 17 MEPs and drop from the fourth largest group in the European Parliament to the sixth just five years after their best ever results in 2019 following Greta Thunberg’s climate protests.

Anti-EU, and often climate sceptic, parties are predicted to perform strongly in the EU elections on Sunday.

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