By Serife Cetin
BRUSSELS (AA) - EU countries are set to elect the members of the next European Parliament (EP) in a four-day vote beginning on May 23 amid the rise of far-right groups in member countries.
With some 400 million potential voters, the election will determine the content of the only EU establishment in which members are appointed through selection.
Eight political groups will compete for a total of 751 seats in the election, seen by some as a referendum of the "EU Project" given a recent resurgence by far-right and populist parties have grown stronger.
- Rise of far-right
Far-right parties have been on the rise across Europe in recent years, even forming governments in Italy, Poland, Hungary and Austria while gaining momentum in many EU countries including France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Norway, Finland, Estonia, Denmark, Czechia and Slovenia.
The ideologies of such groups began gaining strength across the EU following the 2008 financial crisis, and was further augmented by multiple terror attacks as well as a migration crisis that saw millions flow towards the bloc from Africa, the Middle East and south Asia.
Generally adopting an anti-immigration and anti-Islam discourse and remaining distant to the EU, far-right parties are expected to test traditional parties in the upcoming ballot.
- Efforts to form alliance
The far-right populist parties are represented in three out of eight political groupings in the EP -- the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR), Europe of Nations and Freedom (ENF) and Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy (EFDD).
Seeking to expand their representation in the EP, the parties have shown the motivation to forge alliances.
Matteo Salvini, the leader of Italy's far-right Lega Nord (Northern League) Party and the country's interior minister, is attempting to bring far-right parties across EU under the European Alliance for People and Nations.
In this context, Salvini organized a meeting in Milan and gathered with the representatives of Germany's Alternative for Germany, Finland's Finns Party and the Danish People's Party.
In a subsequent visit to Hungary, Salvini attempted to expand the alliance in a meeting with the country's premier, Victor Orban, as well as Austrian Deputy Prime Minister Heinz Christian.
The membership of Hungary's ruling right-wing Fidesz party in the European People's Party (Christian Democrats) group in the EP has been suspended.
Should tensions within the group continue to rise and Fidesz is ousted, the Hungarian party is likely to move towards a possible alliance with Salvini.
- Rise of far-right in surveys
Surveys currently indicate that far-right parties are likely to increase their votes, winning at least one-third of seats.
Further, it is estimated that center-right groups such as the EPP and Social Democrats may incur a drop of roughly 5%, with the EFDD and ENF expected to increase their votes by a respective 6% and 5%.
Meanwhile, polls in the U.K. show the Brexit Party led by far-right politician Nigel Farage expected to surpass country's ruling Conservative Party and main opposition Labour Party.
In France, some surveys indicate that the far-right National Front party may slightly outvote French President Emmanuel Macron in the EP elections.
- EU project under threat?
Though far-right parties had traditionally remained on the fringes of EU politics, they have steadily become more mainstream after voters witnessed London’s difficult divorce process with the union, shifting their discourse to focus unchanging the bloc from within, rather than leaving outright.
Far-right parties have since found a controversial common ground rooted in Islamophobia and anti-migration sentiments, while promoting national interest over the union.
If far-right populist parties gain an EP majority, they will be able to seriously impact the parliament's decision-making mechanisms.
*Writing by Ali Murat Alhas