The results of the European Parliament elections confirmed in general the political trends in the European continent which have been prevailing for some years. The biggest surprise was the high voter turnout with nearly 51%, the highest in the last 20 years. Apparently, the fear of huge gains for the Eurosceptic, right-wing populist parties; the urge to fight against them in order to preserve the EU and the protest against the climate policy (of the EU) prompted voters to go to the poll.
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The message and the lessons were that the EU Commission was punished. It was punished for its lasting inability to correctly deal with the rise of the Eurosceptic and right-wing populist wave and movements throughout the continent. It was punished for its inconsistency with Brexit. It was punished for being lenient with bureaucracy and inefficiency.
The message and the lesson were that the people in the EU were not satisfied with the bloc and wanted it to profoundly and quickly change, both politically and institutionally and that far-reaching reforms should be carried out in the EU, more today than tomorrow.
This results of this European Parliament elections cannot solve any problem the EU have been facing for many years. They did not present any solution to the EU. But they gave the EU a little hope that the Eurosceptic and right-wing populist wave can be contained and an expectation that the EU still have the chance to renew itself.
The next task for the EU Parliament is to form the new European Commission, including and first of all to elect its new president. The destructive opposition from the Eurosceptic and right-wing populist parties will certainly be very strong. That is why all pro-EU parties in the new European Parliament have to unite for the common sake and future of the EU.
