EU voters cast ballots on last day of elections

BRUSSELS, Belgium — Voters across Europe cast their ballots on Sunday on the final — and biggest — day of elections for the European Union's parliament, with far-right parties expected to make gains at a pivotal time for the bloc.

Polling stations opened in 21 member countries, including heavy hitters France and Germany, for the vote that helps shape the EU's direction over the next five years.

"These elections are crucial because the European Parliament must start to play its rightful role," Kostas Karagiannis told Agence France-Presse as he emerged from a polling station in Athens, Greece.

The Russia-Ukraine conflict, the effect of climate policy on farmers and immigration are some of the issues weighing on voters' minds, as they elect 720 members of the European Parliament.

The outcome will determine the makeup of the EU's next parliament that helps decide who runs the powerful European Commission, with German conservative Ursula von der Leyen vying for a second term in charge.

While centrist mainstream parties are predicted to hold most of the incoming parliament's seats, polls suggest they will be weakened by a stronger far right pushing the bloc toward ultra-conservatism.

Preliminary results were expected on Sunday evening.

High cost of living

Many European voters, hammered by a high cost of living and fearing immigrants to be the source of social ills, are increasingly persuaded by populist messaging.

In Germany, the election could deal a blow to Chancellor Olaf Scholz, whose center-left Social Democratic Party, or SPD, is polling behind the far-right Alternative for Germany, or AfD.

Leading the polls are the center-right Christian Democrats, credited with 30 percent of votes. But on 14 percent, AfD is either neck-and-neck or ahead of all three parties in the ruling coalition: SPD, Greens and the liberal FDP.

France will be the EU's high-profile battleground for the competing ideologies. With voting intentions above 30 percent, Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally is predicted to handily beat President Emmanuel Macron's liberal Renaissance party, polling at 14 to 16 percent.

Le Pen, who has strived to shed the National Rally of its past reputation for antisemitism and xenophobia, has made overtures to Italy's far-right Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, with an eye to teaming up.

Agencies via Xinhua