Pro-European parties could surpass expectations by achieving a solid majority in the European Parliament, despite increasing support for right-wing parties. However, this might not provide us with clear insight into the values that the EU will embrace in the future
June’s European Parliament elections are considered as being among the world’s most important votes in 2024, with many predicting that they could result in right-wing parties making it to the very top of the EU. Are these elections unimportant or irrelevant when it comes to determining the EU’s strategic direction, as people used to suggest, or will they bring us an EU with changed values and priorities? What kind of EU can we expect to emerge following these elections and how could that be reflected in the EU’s stance regarding Serbia and the Western Balkans as a whole? What do the realities of daily politics and history tell us about political changes in Europe and their impact on political outcomes in our region?
According to our interlocutors, not much will change when it comes to the power structure within the European Parliament and the EU’s position on Western Balkan integration. It does, however, remain to be seen whether attitudes will change when it comes to some debated issues like climate change, the migrant crisis or the global economic crisis. Moreover, possible changes to Europe’s political direction could become clearer following the conclusion of the U.S., where the outcome remains far from clear.