French expert: Results of elections to European Parliament not to have a negative impact on relations with Azerbaijan - OPINION

"The results of the elections to the European Parliament were unexpected," President of the Institute of European Perspective & Security Studies Emmanuel Dupuy told Report's French bureau.

Noting the high voter turnout in the elections, he said: “Compared to the 2014 elections, this time the voter turnout was 9% higher. Such a high figure was recorded in 1984. More than 25 million voters took part in the current elections. The number of voters rose both in France and across Europe. In France, the voters who actively supported Le Pen's party were against Macron, but on a European scale it had a completely different subtext. High turnout throughout Europe was dictated by the importance attached to the European Union and the issues touched upon, as well as the understanding of these issues."

According to the French expert, another distinctive feature of the current elections was that their results brought significant changes to the overall picture: “A majority of voters in France and in other European countries cast their ballots for the Green Party. And in Germany, the Greens were in the lead, gaining nearly a quarter of the vote. This indicates a desire to focus on environmental issues. Mainly young voters aged below 30 voted for the Greens.

The balance of two completely different political trends is also notesworthy in this election. These are the right-wing and center-left parties in France, which garnered an equal number of votes. It is also notesworthy that the National Front, led by Le Pen, caught up with and even bypassed President Emmanuel Macron's party. Thus, the power of both parties is balanced.

Another surprise of the current elections was that their results frustrated the balance between the political parties in the European Parliament. This opened up prospects for structural reforms. Thus, one of the two leading parties of the European Parliament - the European People’s Party, held only 176 out of 216 seats. And social democrats got only 147 seats out of the previous 180. That is, in fact, their number in the European Parliament has been brought to nought. One way or another, such a balance of forces will not turn into big changes. The conservatives again retained leadership in the European Parliament, which means that they will determine and appoint the head of the European Commission. The election results will allow them to appoint the heads of the European Central Bank, representatives of foreign policy and heads of other key bodies."

Emmanuel Dupuy noted that the election results also showed incorrect statements on the prevalence of migration issues over environmental issues: “Environmental issues are of great importance and will be regularly addressed in the European Parliament. The future of the EU will be another important issue on the agenda. The election results hint that one of the key issues will be the topic of European leadership. Prospects for strengthening the EU against the growing opposition coalitions in the world will now be discussed more often and more resolutely. In particular, the issue of EU countering China, which won the leadership in commercial affairs, will be considered."

According to the French expert, the election results will add to the agenda a discussion of the geographical map of Europe and the sovereignty of European states: "Most of the European Parliament parties that have won the greatest sympathies of voters do not welcome Turkey’s accession to the European Union. In general, they are in doubt about the EU enlargement. In particular, this is manifested in the attitude to the countries of South-Eastern Europe. However, under the new alignment, it is possible to expect positive changes in relations with Russia. On the horizon, there are prospects for cooperation with Russia and even lifting of sanctions."

Dupuy is convinced that the election results will not have a negative impact on relations with Azerbaijan: "This will probably have a negative impact on the EU enlargement, but relations with the Eastern Partnership countries will continue to develop. UK’s place after Brexit will be distributed among other countries. And at that moment an imbalance of political forces may emerge."