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Margrethe Vestager is the Commissioner for competition and the lead candidate for the Liberals in the race for the European Commission presidency. As the European People’s Party and the Socialists will not able to form a majority, she might be the ‘Queenmaker’ in this game of thrones.

These European elections were never supposed to happen in the UK but once it became clear that they would take place, it was inevitable that they would be seen as a proxy for another referendum.

Let’s be blunt about it. The winners in the new European Parliament are the Greens, with almost 20 more members, and especially the ALDE group, with some 40 extra MEPs, mostly thanks to the arrival of Macron’s Renaissance party. This is why this force is now called ALDE&R.

The two main political groups in the European Parliament are losing ground but will remain the powerhouses in the new assembly. However, the traditional political forces on both the right and the left collapsed in France during the European elections. EURACTIV France reports.

French carmaker Renault revealed on Monday (27 May) that it will “study with interest” a merger proposal tabled by Fiat-Chrysler that, if approved, would create one of the largest automobile companies in the world.

Now that voters have spoken, comes the question of a coalition in the European Parliament, where no group has a majority by itself. Ecologists and liberals are in a position of strength. EURACTIV’s partner Ouest-France reports.

The ‘Green Wave’ and the rise of the Liberals have transformed the European Parliament, which for the first time in 40 years will not be governed by the two main parties. Political forces are now expected to work out a compromise on the next Commission president... if the member states allow.

Romania's Supreme Court has decided to send Liviu Dragnea, the powerful president of the ruling Social Democratic Party (PSD), to prison for three-and-a-half years over a corruption case involving fake jobs for party workers.

As EU leaders prepare for what is likely to be a protracted period of negotiating a majority in the fragmented new European Parliament,  EURACTIV looks at the winners and losers of the European elections held in the 28 member states.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s sound victory in the EU elections confirmed the momentum of his party in Spain and positioned him as the leader of the European Socialists, as he seeks to grab an influential EU top job for Madrid.

Wales’ remain-supporting parties outstripped their Brexit-backing counterparts in Sunday’s (26 May) election results, prompting the leader of the principality’s nationalist party to declare it a “Remain nation”. Wales voted alongside England in 2016 to leave the EU.

Climate protection played a central role in the results of the European elections. But German Christian Democrats and Social Democrats admit to not having sufficiently appropriated the climate protection issue. EURACTIV Germany reports.

Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez will meet with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris on Monday (27 May) and is expected to lobby for several socialist and social-democrat candidates for EU top jobs, as member states and political groups start jockeying for position.

The next President of Kazakhstan will have to oversee that there is no backsliding in economic, social and political reforms, and reassure international partners that the external policy of the country remains unchanged, writes Eli Hadzieva.

Extreme-right Flemish separatist party Vlaams Belang gained big in Belgium’s triple elections on Sunday (26 May), complicating efforts to form the next federal government as French-speaking Walloons voted for radically opposite parties on the left of the political spectrum.

Spain's Socialists won most votes in European and local elections on Sunday (26 May) in a series of ballots that boosted their ambitions to target a top EU job in Brussels but highlighted how deeply fragmented the political landscape is at home.

The Capitals brings you the latest news from across Europe, through on-the-ground reporting by EURACTIV’s media network.

The centre-right People's Party (ÖVP) of Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz is on course for gains in the European elections, with the far-right Freedom Party coming third, according to a media forecast published on Sunday (26 May).

Former central banker Gitanas Nauseda won Lithuania's presidential election on Sunday (26 May) after opponent Ingrida Simonyte conceded.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel's embattled coalition will hold crisis talks Monday (27 May) after a thumping at European polls that has reignited questions over its survival.