High prices, migration, war, and the far right. These were some of the key issues debated by Europeans during the election campaign

Wednesday, Jun 5, 2024

European elections saw varied focus: internal issues, migration, and EU’s future dominated debates across member states.

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[This is an automatically generated summary, for reference only]

European elections across various countries saw discussions on cost of living, migration, and environmental policies, alongside issues like the war in Ukraine and the future shape of the EU. In Romania, internal matters overshadowed European themes. France’s campaign heavily featured migration, with Marine Le Pen’s far-right party gaining traction. Hungary experienced a dramatic political shift following a high-profile scandal, leading to new opposition strength. Austria saw its ruling party decline amid corruption and inflation concerns, while the far-right gained momentum by blaming the EU. In Bulgaria, national politics dominated the election despite upcoming Eurozone integration goals. Germany’s elections are expected to reflect dissatisfaction with the governing coalition. Italy anticipates a victory for Meloni’s post-fascist party, though internal coalition tensions remain. The Netherlands focused more on domestic governance than Brussels, emphasizing strict anti-migration policies. Spain highlighted agriculture and environment, while its left-wing government promoted a social and ecological Europe. Slovakia’s elections were overshadowed by an assassination attempt on the prime minister. Czech politics centered on the Green Deal, migration, and the war in Ukraine between the ruling coalition and opposition. Poland focused on national sovereignty versus the rule of law. In Estonia, the strong stance against Russia did not yield electoral gains for its leader. Sweden’s campaign was dominated by migration issues, with the far-right emphasizing border fortification. Spain’s public institutions actively promoted voter participation to engage citizens on European issues.


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PULSE is an initiative for cross-border collaborative journalism in Europe co-funded by the European Commission under Grant Agreement n. PO 4500158093.

PULSE is an initiative coordinated by OBCT that has been promoting intensive journalistic cross-border collaborations in Europe since 2024. Its main aim is to help strengthen the European public sphere by reporting on and telling stories from new and diverse perspectives.

At the heart of PULSE are 10 leading national news outlets (Delfi – Lithuania, Deník Referendum – Czechia, Der Standard – Austria, EfSyn – Greece, El Confidencial – Spain, Gazeta Wyborcza – Poland, HotNews – Romania, HVG – Hungary, Il Sole 24 Ore – Italy, Mediapool – Bulgaria) and three transnational organisations, including OBCT , n-ost and Voxeurop .

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