MEP elections across Europe: The euro declines as the far-right rises

Over the past few days, the euro currency has experienced a significant decline and tumbled one per cent against the US dollar, reaching 1.0774.

Furthermore, the euro also decreased to 0.85 against the British pound, registering the lowest level since August 2022.

In addition, the euro depreciated against the Swiss franc, reaching a level of 0.9660, its lowest point in over two months.

The euro currency can be found in 20 European Union (EU) countries: Malta, Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembiurg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain.

Currency turmoil was sparked by an element of political uncertainty, as European Parliament elections saw increased far-right support in central member countries.

Generally, while candidates and parties range from one another, far-right representatives uphold nationalist, anti-immigration, Eurosceptic ideologies.

Furthermore, far-right politicians tend to advocate for stricter immigration policies while opposing integration and economic policies within the EU.

A shift in European practices and policies might put a strain on economic growth.

In France, the far-right party National Rally, received 31.5 per cent of the vote, more than twice that of the French President, Emmanuel Macron’s, Renaissance party.

This prompted the President to call of snap parliamentary elections with two rounds of voting to take place before (30th June) and after (7th July) the Paris Olympics.

Nearby, in Italy, Brothers of Italy – led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni – garnered 28 per cent of the votes, the highest in the country.

Germany’s far-right party, Alternative for Germany, received 16.2 per cent, gaining five percentage points compared to the previous election and coming second after centre-right Christian Democrats. The party won 30.2 per cent of the vote.

This election also saw a sharp decline for Germany’s Social Democrats, that garnered less than 14 per cent in the election.

The same can be said for Austria’s far-right Freedom Party, that won 27 per cent of the votes, ahead of the ruling party’s 23.5 per cent.

A surge in far-right support was also noted in Belgium and Spain. On the other hand, Hungary’s far-right party remained at the top of the ranks, despite registering their worst result yet.

Key takeaways from the MEP elections across Europe

At the time of writing, EU Parliament results stand as follows:

Overall, the EPP reigned supreme in the elections, having the majority share of all groups, even with the rise of far-right representations from its member states.

Locally, the Labour Party, whose candidates form part of Socialist and Democratic (S&D) group, won the election with a majority of just 8,454 votes between the Labour Party and the Nationalist Party.

The six MEPs to represent Malta in the EU are: Roberta Metsola, Alex Agius Saliba, Peter Agius, David Casa, Daniel Attard and Thomas Bajada.

Beyond the elections

On Thursday, the Governing Council of the European Central Bank (ECB) opted to lower the three key ECB rates by 25 basis points. This was the first rate cut since 2019.

This was aimed at boosting the bloc’s economy, which has stagnated over the last two years as high borrowing rates stifled investment.