Closing summary
We’re pausing our live coverage of the European elections for the day, here’s a round-up of the day’s main developments:
Italy became the first heavyweight nation to cast votes for the EU’s next parliament, in a test of far-right leader Giorgia Meloni’s strength at home - and future influence in the bloc.
Thousands gathered in Budapest’s iconic Heroes’ Square, for a rally organised by opposition figure Péter Magyar – a former government insider who has turned against Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán.
False claims are circulating on Saturday that Germany that voting is a crime. The reports, on Telegram and Facebook are basing their claim on a Germany Federal Constitutional Court from 2012 in relation to seat allocations for Bundestag elections.
Robert Fico, Slovakia’s prime minister who was shot and seriously injured in May, cast his vote at a hospital in Bratislava, as his country joined the list of nations voting.
Voting also got under way in Czech Republic, Latvia and Malta.
European leaders spoke out after Denmark’s prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, was hit by a man on Friday evening. France’s Emmanuel Macron called the attack “unacceptable.” Estonia’s Kaja Kallas said she was “deeply shocked.”
Portugal’s far-right party Chega is facing accusations that it manipulated a video showing a migrant worker confronting its leader Andre Ventura, who went on to accuse him of fabricating his story to discredit the party ahead of the EU election
Thousands rally in Budapest
Thousands gathered in Budapest’s iconic Heroes’ Square, for a rally organised by opposition figure Péter Magyar – a former government insider who has turned against Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán.
We spoke with some of the protesters about why they came.
“He took responsibility for his sins and stood up,” said Zoltán, an activist supporting Magyar’s Tisza party, as he waited for the candidate to speak.
Lena, a 17-year old Hungarian who lives in Austria but wants to move home, said she will vote for Magyar once she is old enough. “I believe we need to take back our homeland,” she said.
Updated
As predicted by the experts, social media is awash with disinformation as polls across Europe continue to take place for the EU parliament.
In Portugal fake pictures of Ursula von der Leyen being arrested are circulating.
But much of the disinformation is fake news about EU directives and regulations.
In Latvia there are false claims that people will not be able to drive combustion engine cars from 2030.
“The EU has no plans to ban the use, repair or sale of old cars. Member states have only agreed that, effective 2035, new cars with internal combustion engines will no longer be sold,” the fact checkers at Rebaltica point out.
Disinformation latest
False claims are circulating on Saturday that Germany that voting is a crime.
The reports, on Telegram and Facebook are basing their claim on a Germany Federal Constitutional Court from 2012 in relation to seat allocations for Bundestag elections.
The authors are telling followers they can report anyone including election workers to the authorities for breaching the law.
The European Digital Media Observatory, which is collating disinformation and attempts to influence the election across Europe, says the reports are consistent with others detected in other countries aimed at undermining the credibility of voting before and after the election.
It says Germany was one of the first countries to experience voter suppression attempts - in early May a false claim spread on Telegram that ballot papers with holes or corners cut were invalid.
There have also been fake stories claiming voters could put a % mark on their ballot paper to vote for multiple candidates, when in fact this invalidates the vote.
Other fake stories circulating today include
- Claims that the European parliament has a secret document about the impact of 5G on health
- Inflated claims in Bulgaria of the number of people who oppose the euro
- And continued claims, reported here earlier this week, that Ursula von der Leyen was advocating a lockdown to combat disinformation.
Updated
Italy votes in EU election with Meloni poised as powerbroker
Italy became the first heavyweight nation to cast votes for the EU’s next parliament today, in a test of far-right leader Giorgia Meloni’s strength at home - and future influence in the bloc.
Most of the European Union’s 27 member countries, including powerhouses France and Germany, go to the polls on Sunday, the final day, with projected overall results due late that evening.
The ballot in Italy - the EU’s third-biggest economy with 76 of the 720 seats in the new parliament - could have major consequences.
Meloni was expected to cast her ballot in her Rome constituency where temperatures were set to hit a sweltering 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit).
Polls suggest Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party could win with 27 percent of the vote - more than quadrupling its score from 2019 - amid a broader surge of far-right groups across the bloc.
That would set up Meloni as a powerbroker in deciding whether EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen gets the backing she needs, from both member states and parliament, for a second term.
In the election run-up, Meloni has been actively courted both by the centre-right von der Leyen - and by French far-right leader Marine Le Pen, who wants to create a right-wing supergroup in the parliament.
Le Pen’s National Rally (RN) party is also topping the polls in the EU race.
Updated
Portugal’s far-right party Chega is facing accusations that it manipulated a video showing a migrant worker confronting its leader Andre Ventura, who went on to accuse him of fabricating his story to discredit the party ahead of the EU election, Reuters reports.
The anti-immigration, populist Chega is the third-largest political party in Portugal, having quadrupled its parliamentary representation in the March general election.
Bangladeshi citizen Iqbal Hossain approached Ventura at an event on Thursday to denounce the poor conditions many migrants experience, particularly Indonesians in the fishing industry.
In tears, the flower farm worker told Ventura he had sent his daughter back to Bangladesh due to the racism migrants often experience.
Ventura took to social media on Friday to claim Hossain was “planted” at the campaign event and that he “fabricated” his story. He and other Chega lawmakers shared a video of the exchange which differed to the one broadcast by news outlets.
SIC TV said that the video Chega shared was manipulated, with images taken out of context and subtitles altered to make it sound like the migrant had lied about his nationality and job.
Ventura described the reporters involved in the coverage of the story as “enemies of the people”.
Around 800,000 migrants live in Portugal, nearly double from a decade ago. Police data shows hate crimes have jumped 38% in 2023 from a year before. New nationalist groups have also emerged.
Austria’s Greens hurt by pre-election scandal
This European parliament is probably going to be the most rightwing ever – and it will want to rip up the Green Deal,” said Lena Schilling, a 23-year-old climate activist turned Green politician, as she canvassed voters in a bougie market in central Vienna.
But even in this Green stronghold, shoppers seemed less interested in threats to democracy and climate policy than the candidate herself. A media storm has for weeks raged around Schilling on the back of newspaper reports that she spread harmful rumours – and the party’s response has thrown it deeper into turmoil right before voters head to the ballot box.
“The way the Greens have acted in the last weeks has been very hypocritical – attacking other parties and playing the victim,” said Diane, a German living in Innsbruck, a few metres from a vandalised campaign poster of Schilling’s face. “It’s the reason I’m voting for the [centre-left] instead of the Greens.”
Polls suggest Europe’s Green parties could lose up to one-third of their seats this weekend as voters drift to the right – a shift that could cap the continent’s green ambitions and unravel world-leading climate policies. In contrast to the elections five years ago, when school strikers such as Schilling and Greta Thunberg pushed climate up the political agenda, inflation and war weigh more heavily on voters’ minds.
In Austria, where the Greens are part of the national government, the party has also been hit by a scandal around its lead candidate that has led to public trust in her plummetting. The daily broadsheet Der Standard reported in May that Schilling had spread damaging rumours about several people, and published private texts in which she sharply criticised the Greens weeks before announcing her candidacy. She is being taken to court by one of the couples caught up in the story – a former friend and her husband who made her sign a document forbidding her from repeating the claims.
For a public struggling to make sense of the scandals, which have gripped this rich country of 9 million people, there is enough uncertainty around some of the allegations to fuel fiery debate. The Austrian press council has opened an investigation into the newspaper’s reporting that will explore its reliance on anonymous sources.
Away from the elections, the French president, Emmanuel Macron, and Joe Biden marked the start of the US president’s official state visit to France with a ceremony at the Arc de Triomphe.
The event followed the leaders’ presence at commemorations of the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings in Normandy on Thursday.
The presidents are expected to discuss Ukraine, the war in Gaza, global security including the strengthening of Nato and policy issues including climate change and naval cooperation.
An Élysee source said Macron and Biden had a warm relationship and cited the fact the US president is spending five days in France as evidence of the importance he attributes to the visit.
In Paris, the leaders oversaw the placing of a large wreath at the flame of the unknown soldier underneath the Arc de Triomphe before a minute’s silence.
Afterwards, Biden’s vehicle was accompanied back down the Champs-Élysée by the mounted Republican Guard.
The two leaders will hold official talks and a working lunch before a state banquet for the US president and his wife at the Élysée on Saturday evening.
On Thursday during his visit to Normandy for the D-Day commemorations, Biden reiterated America’s support for Ukraine and said the US and its allies “will not bow down” and they would “stand for freedom”.
“To surrender to bullies, to bow down to dictators, is simply unthinkable,” Biden said in a speech at the American cemetery in Normandy. “If we were to do that, it means we’d be forgetting what happened here on these hallowed beaches.”
Here are the latest images from around Europe.
Ruslan Stefanchuk, chair of Ukraine’s parliament, said “the votes of our European friends who will participate in these elections will determine the fate of the world’s most successful unification project.”
“I sincerely believe that as a result, the European parliament will be led by responsible political forces that will be able to make it even stronger, safer and more comfortable for everyone. Not populists who seek to destroy the EU and create a shameful copy of the USSR 2.0 on its territory,” he said.
🇪🇺 Elections to the European Parliament.
— Ruslan Stefanchuk (@r_stefanchuk) June 8, 2024
This is a crucial stage in the development of the common European family. The votes of our European friends who will participate in these elections will determine the fate of the world's most successful unification project.
History has…
Evika Siliņa, Latvia’s prime minister, has cast her vote.
Par Latvijas ietekmi Eiropā! 🇱🇻🇪🇺 pic.twitter.com/fXwJ08EZ6L
— Evika Siliņa 🇱🇻🇺🇦 (@EvikaSilina) June 8, 2024
Danish prime minister suffered light whiplash injury, office says
Mette Frederiksen, the Danish prime minister, has suffered a light whiplash injury after she was assaulted by a man in central Copenhagen yesterday, her office said in a statement, Reuters reported.
“Apart from that, the Prime Minister is safe and sound, but she is shocked by the incident,” the office said.
Frederiksen had been taken to hospital for a check-up following the incident and her official events today have been cancelled, the office said.
Updated
Stephen, a reader from Malta, writes in:
I voted around 10am this morning in the beautiful seaside town of St Paul’s Bay (see attached photos) in European and local council elections in my home country of Malta, the smallest country of the EU. There was a constant stream of people voting at my local school but luckily very few queues up to now.
It feels strangely exciting to vote in such a huge election for a citizen of a tiny country like Malta. I personally gave priority to those candidates who voiced support for the recognition of the state of Palestine. Beautiful weather here, bright sunshine and intensely blue summer skies.
People here are voting about Malta’s future role and participation in the EU’s common defence policy and the recent hospital corruption scandal.
European parliament president votes in Malta
Roberta Metsola has cast her ballot in Malta.
She is a candidate for Malta’s Nationalist party, part of the centre-right European People’s party.
“Use your vote or others will decide for you,” she said.
Duty done 🗳️
— Roberta Metsola (@EP_President) June 8, 2024
I have just voted in the #EUelections2024.#UseYourVote or others will decide for you. pic.twitter.com/PRDBQrucLS
Updated
Fico votes at Bratislava hospital
Robert Fico, Slovakia’s prime minister who was shot and seriously injured in May, cast his vote at a hospital in Bratislava.
Fico, a populist politician who is closely allied with Hungary’s Viktor Orbán and has promoted a foreign policy more friendly toward Russia, wrote on social media:
I voted in the hospital because these elections are also important. It is necessary to vote for MEPs who will support peace initiatives and not the continuation of war.
Consent of western countries given to Ukraine to use western weapons to attack targets on Russian territory is just a proof that big western democracies do not want peace, but an escalation of tensions with the Russian Federation, which will surely happen.
As a prime minister of the Slovak Republic, I will not drag Slovakia into any similar military adventures and within our small Slovak possibilities, I will do everything possible so that peace gets priority over war.
Updated
Ľudovít Ódor, lead candidate for Progressive Slovakia, has cast his vote.
Ódor is a former deputy governor of Slovakia’s national bank who briefly served as Slovakia’s prime minister last year at the helm of a technocrat government. He comes from Slovakia’s Hungarian-speaking minority.
“Today’s election is more important than you think,” he wrote on social media, urging people to vote for a “pro-European Slovakia.”
Dnešné voľby sú dôležitejšie ako si myslíte. Poďte to aj vy hodiť proeurópskemu Slovensku. pic.twitter.com/pAgWXxd8Ax
— Ludovit Odor (@LudoOdor) June 8, 2024
European leaders condemn attack on Denmark's prime minister
European leaders are continuing to speak out after Denmark’s prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, was hit by a man on Friday evening.
France’s Emmanuel Macron called the attack “unacceptable.”
Estonia’s Kaja Kallas said she was “deeply shocked.”
L'agression dont la Première ministre danoise a été la cible est inadmissible. Je condamne fermement cet acte et adresse à Mette Frederiksen mes vœux de prompt rétablissement.
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) June 8, 2024
Deeply shocked by the attack against @statsmin on her way home in Copenhagen.
— Kaja Kallas (@kajakallas) June 8, 2024
Dearest Mette, thinking of you and sending my best wishes.
The Greens group is encouraging voters to head to the polls… with the Simpsons.
With this vote, we choose the future of Europe.
— Greens/EFA in the EU Parliament 🌍 (@GreensEFA) June 8, 2024
Let’s all go vote in the EU elections!
Today, the voters in these countries will head to the polls:
🇨🇿🇮🇹🇸🇰🇱🇻🇲🇹#EUelections #UseYourVote pic.twitter.com/ockDe5jMvc
We’d like to hear from you!
If you’re voting today: any long lines? What issues impacted your voting choice most?
If you’re voting tomorrow: any interesting last-minute campaigning in your country?
Send your thoughts to lili.bayer@theguardian.com.
What are Latvian voters talking about?
Earlier this week on the blog, we heard from Sandra Kalniete, a candidate for Latvia’s Unity party, who said that “security issues are the absolute priority.”
Voters in Latvia are focused on strengthening defence and military capabilities as well as bolstering border security, she said, adding that discussions are “completely different from the previous campaign” due to Russia’s war against Ukraine and Moscow’s belligerent rhetoric.
By the time polling stations opened in Latvia at 8am local time today, 8.37% of eligible voters already cast their ballots in advance voting, the country’s public broadcaster reported.
This figure is lower than the 11% who voted early in the 2019 election.
Man arrested after attacking Denmark’s prime minister
Late yesterday, news broke that a man was arrested after attacking Denmark’s prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, in central Copenhagen.
The prime minister’s office said in a statement that Frederiksen was “shocked by the incident.”
“Prime minister Mette Frederiksen was hit by a man Friday evening on Kultorvet in Copenhagen. The man was subsequently arrested,” the statement said.
Police in the Danish capital said the incident had taken place at Kultorvet, a pedestrianised square in the centre of the city.
“We have made an arrest in the case, which we are now investigating. We currently have no further comments or observations on the matter,” the police said on X.
The incident came after several attacks on politicians in different parts of Europe over the past weeks.
Voters to go to polls in five European countries
Voting is underway in the Czech Republic, Latvia, Malta and Slovakia.
Polling stations will open at 3pm in Italy, where voting will continue tomorrow as well.
Welcome back to the EU elections blog
Good morning and welcome back to the blog.
It’s the third day of voting in the European elections. Today voters in Slovakia, Latvia and Malta go to the polls. Polls are open for a second day in the Czech Republic. And Italians are starting the first of their two days of voting.
