Sofia, Bulgaria - June 12, 2024

The President of the European Commission and candidate of the European People's Party (EPP) to repeat in office, the German Ursula von der Leyen, celebrated on Sunday (09.06.2024) the victory of her political group in European elections marked by the rise of the far right, which won in France, causing an early election, and in Austria and was the second political force in Germany.

"We will build a bastion against the extremes, left and right," said the Christian Democrat candidate for the new EU presidency in Brussels, whose party is said to have won more than 180 of the 720 seats in the European Parliament, according to the first official figures. "Today is a good day for the EPP, we have won the European elections (...) Voters have recognised our leadership over the last five years," said Von der Leyen from her campaign headquarters in the Belgian capital.

At his side, European People's Party President Manfred Weber welcomed the confidence in his political family, which would have won the elections with more than the 176 seats it had. Weber called for a "democratic Europe", called for the "election winner" to be allowed to chair the European Commission and said the People's Party was the best antidote to extremes.

The EPP would be followed by the Alliance of European Socialists and Democrats (S&D) with 135 MEPs (four less). They would be followed by the Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) with 71 seats, two more, and the far-right Identity and Democracy (ID) with 62 seats, thirteen more. The Greens/European Free Alliance, with 53 seats, would fall sharply to sixth place from fourth in the previous chamber, where they had 18 more seats. The smallest group in the European Parliament would remain The Left, which won 34 seats today and had three more in the outgoing Chamber.

SHOTLIST:
1. Various elections in Bulgaria
2. Various from elections in Romania