Centrist bloc loses majority in EU vote as Greens and euroskeptics gain, early results show

• Share on Facebook
• Tweet it
• Share on Reddit
• Pin it
• Share it
• Email

CNBC

The EU Parliament will be much more fragmented over the next five years with the established centrist bloc set to fall short of securing a majority at this week’s election, early results show.

The current projection from the European parliament is that center-right and center-left blocks will end up with a total of 329 seats out of 751.The lack of a majority for the centrist bloc — the center-right European People’s Party (EPP) and the center-left Socialist and Democrats (S&D) which has held power in Brussels for several decades — could further complicate decision-making at the European Union.

Pro-EU parties will hold onto two-thirds of the seats at the EU Parliament, but their nationalist opponents have also produced solid results.Italy’s anti-immigration Lega party has reportedly secured 28 seats, essentially doubling its level of national support.

Euroskeptic groups in France and the U.K. look to have held the gains they saw in 2014 but that said, the results on Monday morning suggested a strong showing for Liberal and Green parties.

Turnout rises

Voter turnout has typically been one of the EU election’s biggest challenges. Indications show that figure has hit 51% this year, up from 43% in the 2014 election.

This year’s vote was particularly relevant due to the surge of anti-EU and nationalist parties across the region. However, the pro-EU parties look to have largely held their ground in many countries and the euro rose slightly in early trading Monday.