Centrists lose ground in EU vote

The four-day European Parliament election ended on Sunday with the powerful center-right and center-left party groups losing their combined and decadeslong majority, while liberals, greens and populists surged to paint a new political landscape for the European Union.

The center-right European People's Party, retaining 180 seats compared with 216 seats in 2014, remains the largest party group. The center-left Socialists and Democrats saw their seats dropping to 146 from the 191 in 2014, according to early results on the European Parliament's website on Monday.

They are expected to seek support from the Liberals, with over 100 seats, and Greens, with nearly 70 seats, to form a pro-European Union coalition in the 751-seat Parliament. The Parliament plays a major role in shaping EU legislation and in selecting the head of the executive European Commission.