Unofficial estimated results are likely to trickle in from late afternoon on Sunday
Polls have opened in 20 EU countries, from Sweden and Lithuania in the north to Portugal and Cyprus in the south, as voters choose their representatives for the next five-year term of the European Parliament.
Official results of the elections, which are held every five years and began in the Netherlands on Thursday, cannot be published before the last polling station in the 27 nations close – those in Italy at 11pm local time. .‘They are looking for an alternative’: right and left extremes to gain in Belgian elections’s anti-migrant hard-right party should make important gains in the Netherlands, even though a coalition of pro-European parties has probably pushed it into second place.
The polls also mark the beginning of a period of uncertainty for the Europeans and their international partners. Beyond the wrangling to form political groups and establish alliances inside parliament, governments will compete to secure top EU jobs for their national officials. Other plum posts are those of European Council president, who chairs summits of presidents and prime ministers, and EU foreign policy chief, the bloc’s top diplomat.
Geert-Wilders Marine-Le-Pen Viktor-Orban Giorgia-Meloni
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