Brussels, Belgium - June 13, 2024

Storyline:
Europe is seeing a pivot to the right as Sunday's European parliamentary elections came to an end with right-wing parties triumphing.

Far-right parties made big gains in the elections with Europe's Identity and Democracy (ID) Group winning 58 seats while the centrist parties and freedom parties witnessed a dramatic decline in seats.

Roughly half of the 357 million eligible voters across the European Union's 27 member states participated in the elections to select the 720 members of the European Parliament.

The results showed their attitudes towards the mainstream groups. Many voters expressed disappointment with the mainstream political parties, particularly in the wake of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, coupled with rising inflation, increased costs of living and diminished purchasing power.

In addition, they also turned to support far-right parties as the parties stand for anti-immigration and populism.

Although the far-right parties gained the majority in the elections, mainstream parties including the central-right European People’s Party, the central-left Social Democratic Party of Germany and the central Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Group secured the top three positions, indicating that traditional political forces will continue to dominate EU policy.

However, a European think tank expert said that the ruling parties of France and Germany suffered from great shockwaves, casting uncertainty on the future roadmap of Europe in the next five years as the far-right parties are poised to influence the EU's direction across a range of issues, from immigration to climate policy.

Shotlist:
Brussels, Belgium - June 13, 2024:
Brussels, Belgium - June 9, 2024
1. Vote for European Parliament election in progress;
2. Various of venue, attendees;
Brussels, Belgium - June 13, 2024
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Nona, Brussels resident (full name not given):
"They can afford less than they used to because of inflation. People (are) afraid of their future to maybe have less better conditions than their parents, so they blame it on migrants.";
FILE: Brussels, Belgium - Nov 14, 2023
4. Various of Royal Palace of Brussels, national flag of Belgium;
5. Traffic;
Brussels, Belgium - June 13, 2024
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Ward Sheron, Brussels resident (starting with shots 4-5):
"I think a lot of people in Europe, they may be a bit disillusioned with how politics work in general. I think it will move a lot of parties to think about again how they do, how they approach citizens, how to involve citizens in policy making.";
FILE: Paris, France - April 28, 2024
7. Various of Eiffel Tower, ships on river;
FILE: Berlin, Germany - Date Unknown
8. National flag of Germany;
FILE: Frankfurt, Germany - Oct 24, 2019
9. City view, buildings, bridge;
Brussels, Belgium - June 13, 2024
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Marc-Olivier Padis, director, French independent think tank Terra Nova:
"It can bring some uncertainty. The green transition is more difficult because it's a topic that the far right has really raised and has decided to fight against. It will change the pace.";
FILE: Brussels, Belgium - Date Unknown
11. European Union (EU) flags, Berlaymont building;
FILE: Brussels, Belgium - Dec 15, 2022 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
12. Various of EU flags.

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