1. Preliminary results from EP show EPP ahead of S&D with 25 seats. Turnout
estimated at 43.09%. In their early declarations, both Jean-Claude Juncker
and Martin Schulz claimed the right to seek a majority and become the
Commission president. Jean-Claude Juncker held a press conference at 11.15
today, saying, among others, that he will negotiate from the winner's position
and "not on his knees". S&D held a press conference at 11.00, saying that
they will start negotiations for a change in European policies. Guy
Verhofstadt says that a majority will not be possible without a third party.
Chancellor Merkel calls rise of far right in EU vote "remarkable and
regrettable", welcomed the "solid result" of conservatives, praising good
Juncker campaign. She also praised France for having undertaken reforms.
At Commission midday briefing, media questions focused on status of
Commissioners who have been elected as MEPs. Media comment on a
nomination process seen as long and complex. Big surge for Eurosceptic
forces in France and the UK, with media weighing domestic impact. PM
Cameron rejects calls for early referendum after election loss to Ukip. French
PM pledges tax cuts.
MAINSTREAM MEDIA ON THE NOMINATION PROCESS AND POLITICAL
CONSEQUENCES OF THE ELECTION
 Le Conseil européen invité à analyser le vote. Les Echos writes that yesterday's
results will open a long period of difficult negotiations for the designation of the future
Commission president. It adds that "le vote à la proportionnelle ne pousse pas à un
affrontement gauche-droite classique, mais à des coalitions longuement négociées. Or
chaque groupe politique va devoir se recomposer pour accueillir de nouveaux partis.
Ce qui laisse présager de longues tractations, difficilement lisibles."
 Commission: la bataille du nom. Jean Quatremer writes for Libération that "il n'est
désormais plus question de désigner qui que ce soit demain". He also quotes President
Van Rompuy's declaration last week: "Nous discuterons du processus qui conduira le
Conseil européen à proposer au Parlement un candidat en vue de l'élection du futur
président de la Commission", commenting on that: "De fait, Van Rompuy a pris la
mesure de la détermination des partis à ne pas laisser les gouvernements sortir un
candidat surprise de leur chapeau." The author calls the process "un putsch
institutionnel" and a difficult negotiation: "L'affaire s'annonce alors difficile: il faudra en
effet que Schulz accepte de soutenir Juncker ou l'inverse, sans doute en échange de
concessions programmatiques ou d'un plus grand nombre de postes. On peut
également imaginer que le compromis se fasse autour d'un troisième homme: c'est là-
dessus que compte le 'libéral social' Guy Verhofstadt, qui amènerait son groupe dans
la corbeille de mariage…" Read more.
 A Strasbourg, une charge populiste hétéroclite. Libération also writes that, although
the gap between the main political groups has diminished, S&D has failed to become
the first group and thus Martin Schulz "voit ses chances de devenir président de la
Commission fortement compromises". He also argues: "C'est à la droite du PPE que se
trouvent les principaux bénéficiaires du scrutin." Read more.
 Maneuvering Over the Top Job in Brussels. Reuters correspondent Paul Taylor
writes for The New York Times that the negotiations may take weeks, adding that the
tug-of-war begins in earnest on Tuesday. Critics of the Parliament’s bid say national
governments, elected on a far higher turnout, remain the primary source of democratic

2. legitimacy in the European Union. Some warn that any perception that the Commission
is in the pocket of a Parliament led by federalists eager to raise spending would run
counter to the public mood and fan euro-scepticism. The author adds that, in keeping
with tradition, a package deal of top jobs will have to balance left and right, north and
south, east and west, big states and small ones, and men and women, as he quotes a
diplomat saying that the Parliament will have to be promised something else as a
consolation. Read more.
 Juncker o Schulz? La sfida è aperta con l'incognita di un outsider. La Repubblica
writes that during tomorrow's meeting, the heads of state or government will try to
assess how strong the resistance to accept the Parliament's proposal is among them. If
they will nominate someone different than the top candidates, the paper says, they risk
creating a tug of war between the two institutions. It also says that not only Jean-
Claude Juncker, but also Martin Schulz and Guy Verhofstadt have said that they are
certain to be able to create a majority in the Parliament. Party leaders will also meet
tomorrow in an attempt to decide the framework for the consultations. The newspaper
argues that the European Council and the European Parliament will need to come up
with a nomination package that will reflect EU's political and/or geographical landscape.
If the Parliament insists on nominating Mr Juncker for the Commission, national leaders
will have to nominate a Socialist as the President of the European Council and maybe
a Liberal as the HR.
 Wie Schulz die Macht der Kanzlerin brechen will. Latest declarations from top
candidates and main political groups regarding the forming of a new parliamentary
majority and the appointment process are compiled by Die Welt in a piece called "How
does Schulz want to break the power of the Chancellor". Martin Schulz is quoted
declaring last night that he doubts the preliminary results presented by the EP are
correct and saying "I have managed to break the absolute dominance of the EPP in the
European parliament". Jean-Claude Juncker is quoted saying that there is no way
around the winning EPP. All top candidates said that they are willing to negotiate,
under certain conditions. Read more.
 Konservative stärkste Kraft im EU-Parlament. FAZ quotes Jean-Claude Juncker
saying that he is entitled to become the next Commission president. He is also quoted
saying that he is ready to cooperate with the Socialists, but he will not seek to form a
majority outside the democratic forces of the Parliament. Martin Schulz is quoted
saying that he too will seek to form a majority and is ready to talk to Mr Juncker, but
only after knowing the final results. Read more.
 Europavotum: Wir sind Wahlsieger. In a comment, Der Spiegel writes on the
outcome of the elections that it is hard to imagine that the national leaders will be able
to deny Mr Juncker the role of Commission president, if he manages to put in place a
supporting majority. The rest of top jobs should then be distributed by the national
leaders taking into account political and regional considerations. The newspaper says
that, although the Spitzenkandidaten experiment did not work as intended, it was worth
it. The elections, although not necessarily the electorate, have made Europe more
democratic, it concludes. Read more.
 Die SPD heißt jetzt Gabriel Schulz. Süddeutsche Zeitung argues that, for the first
time in a long period, German SPD has risen again in the European elections and that
Angela Merkel will now have to acknowledge the new strength of the Gabriel-Schulz
duo. As the battle for the Commission presidency begins with Germany at the core of
the decision, this duo will play a central role in the designation process. And this is
something new, the paper concludes. Read more.
 Gegenwind für Schulz aus Berlin. It no longer looks as if SPD's top candidate could
become president of the EU Commission, DW says, noting that he doesn't enjoy the
support of Chancellor Merkel. But his party is not ready to give up and their reason for

3. hope is the unclear situation in the Parliament. DW says that Jean-Claude Juncker
does not have the support of several EPP members and that the Greens are also
against him. Their German top candidate Rebecca Harms is quoted saying: "We do not
want Merkel's man to become the Commission president again. President Barroso has
very much danced to the tune of Mrs Merkel". Read more.
 Merkel calls rise of right in EU vote "remarkable and regrettable": Chancellor
Merkel said on Monday at a press conference in Berlin she was surprised and
dismayed by the strength of some far-right and populist parties in the EP elections. "It's
remarkable and regrettable." (Reuters) She also welcomed the "solid result" of
conservatives, praising the "good campaign" led with J.-C. Juncker. She said
discussion now had to be led concerning the new Commission president (AFP). She
praised France for having undertaken reforms and called for competitiveness policies
in Europe to counter eurosceptics.
 German FM Steinmeier said that the FN's victory in France was a "serious signal",
according to AFP. He also said he was horrified a member from the German NPD had
been elected.
 Cameron rebuffs calls for early referendum after election loss. Reuters writes that
David Cameron rejected calls on Monday to bring forward an in/out EU membership
referendum after his party was beaten into third place in the elections by UKIP. "I don't
think shortening the timeframe for the referendum would be right," Cameron told BBC
radio, saying he was "confident" he could secure a significant renegotiation of Britain's
EU ties if given the chance. Read more.
 French PM pledges tax cuts after far-right poll triumph. Reuters reports that PM
Manuel Valls promised on Monday to unveil more tax cuts for households this year,
saying the triumph of the National Front in European elections showed the French were
fed up with years of tax rises.
 Le populisme affaiblit le Parlement face aux gouvernements. Le Monde writes that
populism weakens the EP in front of governments. On the majority building
negotiations, it writes: "Guy Verhofstadt devrait être en position de pivot entre la droite
et la gauche dans la perspective d'une «grande coalition» PPE-socialistes-libéraux. A
European source is quoted arguing that chancellor Merkel will not necessarily support
her party's top candidate: "Elle n'a pas renoncé à choisir en dehors des chefs de file en
lice." Read more.
REACTIONS AT PRESS CONFERENCES THIS MORNING
 J.-C. Juncker from the press conference today at 11.15: "I am not on my knees
before any leader. I won the elections". " L'extrême droite et les populistes n'ont pas
remporté cet élection, même si leur renforcement dans certains pays me trouble". "The
EPP has a double digit lead, this gives me, as lead candidate, the first right to seek a
majority in the Parliament and in the Council."
 S&D (Sergei Stanishev) from press conference at 11.00: "It is clear that the big
loser is the EPP, the party who ruined Europe, especially during the last 5 years. This
is a reality, it loses around 20% or representation compared to 2009." "The Socialist
family is stable in these elections, our results are similar to those of 2009, but we didn’t
manage to get enough support for a real big change in Europe." "Now we intend to
start consultation in order to provide the conditions for a stable democratic majority in
the EP that can provide a change in European institutions towards citizens' interests. If
somebody believes these results are a mandate to continue with the same policies, in
the next elections Europe will be in deep trouble. We want a Europe that is fairer, just,
social and not turning its back to its citizens."
 J.M. Barroso (press statement): "Citizens across the European Union have exercised
their democratic right and made their voice count in the European Parliament elections. I

4. thank all those who have voted. The outcomes differ significantly between Member
States. These differences reflect our Union's mix of a pan-European political debate with
specific national agendas. As a consequence, all political leaders at national and
European level must reflect on their responsibilities following this election."
ELECTION DATA
-- TURNOUT
 The estimated tournout was 43.09% (information updated by the EP at 23:58 CEST).
 Guy Verhofstadt, among others, praised the fact that, for the first time in European
elections' history, the downwards trend has been reversed.
-- RESULTS
 The preliminary general results updated by the EP at 11:01 CEST show the following
distribution of votes:
EPP 214
S&D 189
ALDE 66
Greens/EFA 52
ECR 46
GUE/NGL 42
NI 41
EFD 38
Others 63

5.  Information on results and seats is being updated regularly on the EP's dedicated
website.
 National results: surge of Eurosceptic forces in several major countries, with notable
results in France and UK. Please find attached the national preliminary results by
country.
 CDU/CSU won in Germany (but is on a negative trend and with a record-low result for
CSU), with SPD second and The Greens in third place. AfD won 7% and 7 seats.
 In Italy, PM Renzi's PD won a comfortable 40.84%, with anti-establishment M5S
second (21.15%) and FI on third place (16.79%).
 In France, the Eurosceptic FN won the election with 26%, ahead of UMP (21%) and the
PS (14%).
 In the UK, Nigel Farage's UKIP won the election with 27.5%, with Labour on second
place (25.4%) and the Tories on third place (23.94%).
 For further details on countries, please check the dedicated website or Reuters, as well
as the following links: Denmark, Slovakia, Cyprus, Finland, Czech Republic, Hungary,
Italy, Sweden, Croatia, Latvia, Portugal, Romania, France, Slovenia, Greece,
Germany, Malta, UK, Austria, Bulgaria, Estonia, Ireland, Lithuania, Luxembourg,
Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Belgium.

6. EUROPEAN MEDIA
 Juncker declares victory in race for Commission presidency. Declarations from
the three main contenders are resumed in this piece by EU Observer. Mr Juncker says
he is the winner and that he is ready to negotiate with the Socialists, but not "on his
knees". Martin Schulz also says he will try to form a majority. Guy Verhofstadt says that
no majority is possible without the third party and that ALDE is ready to negotiate.
Read more.
 Juncker claims victory, but Schulz will not concede. Martin Schulz says a party
that lost 60 seats does not have a strong mandate to claim the presidency of the
European Commission, European Voice reports. Read more.
 Slight turnout increase linked to anti-establishment vote. Turnout in Sunday's
election was 0,11 points higher than that of 2099 (43%). EP's spokesperson Jaume
Duch presented it as "historic", since data have been declining since 1979. Some
experts see a link between these results and the strong anti-establishment vote in
many countries. Read more.
 Voter turnout shows negligible improvement on 2009 level. The average turnout
across Europe was almost exactly the same as in 2009, with an improvement of only
0.09%, European Voice reports. Read more.
 2014-19 European Parliament will see same balance of power. The three main
groups of the European Parliament have all lost seats, but they will maintain their
position of dominance as the top three parties in the legislature, European Voice
reports. Read more.
 Europe on course for ‘grand coalition’ after election. EurActiv points out that,
despite the rise of anti-European parties, the power balance remained stable in the
European Parliament (with the EPP as the biggest force with 212 seats, followed by the
S&D with 186, ALDE with 70, Green parties with 55 and the ECR with 44). But the
question is what groups the 38 non-affiliated MEPs and the 67 MEP from "others" will
join. Read more.
Ramona Gabar
Conseil de l'Union Européenne
DG F 1A - Service de Presse - Media Monitoring
Rue de la Loi, 175
B-1048 Bruxelles
Tel. +32 2 281 2706