But a key point for those watching China policy is that the centre-right European People’s Party (EPP), led by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, remains the European Union’s largest parliamentary group.
In India’s biggest democratic process after a major general election, the EPP won 189 seats, seven more than five years ago. In second place was the Social and Democratic group (S&D), which lost 135 seats from 154 in 2019.
The right-wing European Conservatives and Reformists party increased its seats to 72 from 62 five years ago.
The far-right Identity and Democracy (ID) party actually lost ground, dropping from 72 to 58 seats, in part because the AfD was expelled from the group after its leading candidate, Maximilian Kurler, told an Italian newspaper that members of the SS were not necessarily criminals.
“The biggest winners in this election are the two far-right families,” said Pawel Zerka of the European Council on Foreign Relations.
“AfD and [Hungary’s] Fidesz has almost passed the one-third threshold, which seems to give it the ability to block legislation.”
A victory for the EPP would further increase the chances of hawkish European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who has vowed to continue working to reduce risks in relations with China, securing a second term at the head of the European Commission.
Speaking in a packed parliamentary semicircle just before midnight in Brussels, the German chancellor said she was confident of winning a second term, which would require the support of the leaders of the 27 European Union member states before being approved in a parliamentary vote.
Amid fears she might work with the far-right, von der Leyen announced plans to immediately begin negotiations with the centrist Social Democrats and Renew party to secure the votes she needs and “build a strong Europe”.
Macron has lobbied hard in Brussels against von der Leyen being reappointed, but with his party in a weak position and expected to survive tough parliamentary elections on June 30, he may have some less influence when party leaders discuss von der Leyen’s candidacy next week.
In a sign of disarray in the centrist camp, leading candidate Valerie Heyer did not appear in parliament or answer questions from reporters, even though all other political groups were present.
Meanwhile, the French prime minister has strongly supported the European Commission’s tough trade and competition stance towards China, including a major investigation into Chinese subsidies for the electric vehicle sector, the results of which are due to be announced this week.
Speaking to reporters in the European Parliament’s semicircular chamber on Sunday evening, European Party leader Manfred Weber called on Scholz and Macron to support von der Leyen for another term on the European Commission.
“I now expect Olaf Scholz to make it clear that he supports the winner of the elections, namely Ursula von der Leyen,” Weber told state broadcaster ZDF.
“And the same can be said about Emmanuel Macron, as President of France and above all as the strongest politician in the European liberal family.”
Some of China’s biggest critics in parliament have been re-elected to another term, including French socialist Raphaël Glucksmann, who led the parliament’s anti-forced labor campaign, and Miriam Lexmann, a Slovak Christian Democrat who was sanctioned by Beijing in 2021.
The Dutch government’s former cybersecurity chief, Bert Grutis, retained his seat after spending much of his last term investigating Chinese companies’ involvement in Europe’s critical infrastructure.
In Germany, Bernd Lange, who has campaigned for a balanced trade relationship with Beijing, was re-elected chairman of the parliament’s trade committee, while Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis, who has said he is interested in serving another term in the job, topped opinion polls in Latvia.
Other hawks, such as the Greens’ Marketa Gregorová and Anna Cavazzini, held on to their seats despite a terrible night for their party.
Several Green Party lawmakers from the Inter-Parliamentary Union, a hard-line party on China, lost their seats, while Reinhard Bütikofer, the Greens’ lead on China relations in parliament, retired.
As of midnight in Brussels on Sunday, the electoral future of some of China’s biggest defenders in parliament was unclear.
The incumbent, a frequent defender of Beijing’s policies, still had a slim chance of being re-elected under Ireland’s proportional representation vote transfer system, and the seat of her frequent ally Mick Wallace was also in danger.
