Brussels, my love? French politics stirs up Brussels

In this edition, we break down what the results of the EP elections will mean for the EU’s future.

Our guests for this edition are Tom Vandendriessche, Flemish MEP from the Identity and Democracy group, Sophia Russack, researcher at think tank CEPS and Eoin Drea from the Wilfried Martens Centre.

Panelists gave their takes on the results of EU elections, with hundreds of millions of Europeans turning out to select their representation at the European Parliament.

“I would say that the EPP [European People’s Party] did better than predicted, but the centre holds,” Sophia Russack said, adding that polls had proved largely accurate.

Eoin Drea, whose think tank represents the centre-right EPP, stressed the importance of the middle-ground in European politics.

“President Macron, he came in, he split the centre-right, he split the centre-left, and now we’re looking at a situation where Marine Le Pen is by far the largest party in the European Parliament and in polls,” Drea said, pointing to an upcoming French legislative election that Macron was forced to call after the EU results were out.

MEP Tom Vandendriessche applauded the victory of the far right in France, saying they could bring hope to the country.

His party has spent half a million euros on social media over the last five years to connect with voters, he said, adding that his party is “open for business” as it prepares to work with other MEPs.

Watch “Brussels, my love?” in the player above.