The Sweden Democrats (ECR) came fourth in the European elections, despite being the second-largest party in the national parliament, marking the party's first loss of ground in an election since entering parliament.
A few hours after French President Emmanuel Macron called for snap elections in France, his Renew Europe colleague Prime Minister Kaja Kallas announced that her government would not fall as a result of the EU election results and the loss of a key MEP in her Reform Party (RE).
Denmark's centrist government was put to the test during the EU elections, facing voters for the first time since national polls at the end of 2022.
The ruling centre-right coalition Jaunā Vienotība (JV/EPP) won Latvia's elections with 25.7% of the vote, followed by the opposition Nacionālā Apvienība (NA/ECR) with 22.08%, securing two MEP seats each for the EPP and ECR groups in the European Parliament, provisional results of Saturday's vote that the Central Election Commission announced on Sunday read.
The ruling Homeland Union-Christian Democrats of Lithuania (EPP) has won the EU elections, securing three seats in the European Parliament with 21.3% of the vote, while the centre-left Lithuanian Social Democratic Party (S&D), which led pre-election polls, came in second with 18% of the vote and two of Lithuania's 11 seats, according to the country’s Central Election Commission (VRK).
The Swedish Greens have unexpectedly come out ahead of the Sweden Democrats (SD, ECR), and the ruling Liberals have narrowly avoided being thrown out of the European Parliament, according to provisional results published by the Swedish government.
Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo celebrated victory amid a record voter turnout in the European elections on Sunday, with the expected far-right surge failing to materialise.
Members of Sweden's right-wing coalition are split over whether to cooperate with the far-right ID group after the European elections, as some have indicated serious interest in doing so, while Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson of the centre-right Moderate Party (EPP) dismissed such a move on Tuesday.
The European elections began on Monday in Estonia, with people voting in person and online amid technical problems with the online voting platform.
Although the centre-left Lithuanian Social Democratic Party is currently polling well ahead of the rest in the run-up to the European elections, the outcome will largely depend on voter turnout, which is currently expected to be among the lowest, that could favour the current ruling Homeland Union-Christian Democrats of Lithuania.
The Liberal candidate in the Danish European elections, Alexandra Sasha (Venstre/Renew Europe), announced on Thursday that she was withdrawing from the race after the press reported that she had links to Russia, allegations she has denied.
The public debate in Sweden is dominated by a far-right troll factory scandal, while the centre-right coalition is trying to dilute its cooperation with the far-right in a broader collaboration with the Social Democrats in the European Parliament.
Sweden has been asked to pause plans to send Jas Gripen fighter jets to Ukraine, Swedish Defence Minister Pål Jonson said on Tuesday, adding that the focus is now on US F-16s.
(Recasts with Nauseda calling victory)
By Andrius Sytas
VILNIUS, May 26 (Reuters) - Lithuanian Gitanas Nauseda announced his re-election in a presidential ballot on Sunday, following a campaign dominated by security concerns in the European Union and NATO member next door to Russia.
The Baltic nation of 2.8 million people has been a staunch ally of Ukraine since Russia's 2022 invasion. Like other countries in the region, it worries it could be Moscow's next target.
Ballots from nearly 90% of polling stations showed Nauseda, 60, winning roughly three quarters of the vote, followed by Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte, 49, from the ruling centre-right Homeland Union party.
If confirmed by final results, Nauseda's backing in his bid for a second term will be highest in the country since it split from the Soviet Union in 1991.
A former senior economist with Swedish banking group SEB who is not affiliated with any party, Nauseda won the first round of the election on May 12 with 44% of the votes, short of the 50% he needed for an outright victory.
Just over half of Lithuanians believe a Russian attack is possible or even very likely, according to a ELTA/Baltijos Tyrimai poll conducted between February and March. Russia has regularly dismissed concerns that it might attack a NATO member.
Nauseda told jubilant supporters in the capital Vilnius that he will continue working on the country's defence capabilities.
"Lithuanian independence and freedom is like a fragile vessel which we need to cherish and keep from cracking," he said.
Both Nauseda and Simonyte support increasing defence spending to at least 3% of Lithuania's gross domestic product, from the 2.75% planned for this year.
But Nauseda, who is a social conservative, has clashed with Simonyte on other issues, including whether to give a legal recognition to same-sex civil partnerships, which Nauseda opposes.
He has said it would make such unions too similar to marriage, which Lithuania's constitution only allows between a man and a woman.
Simonyte, a former finance minister and a fiscal hawk, said on Thursday that if she won, "the direction for the country - pro-European, pro-Western - would not change".
"But I would like quicker progress, more openness and understanding, larger tolerance to people who are different from us", she said.
Lithuania's president has a semi-executive role, which includes heading the armed forces, chairing the supreme defence and national security policy body and representing the country at EU and NATO summits.
The president sets foreign and security policy in tandem with the government, can veto laws and has a say in the appointment of key officials such as judges, the chief prosecutor, the chief of defence and the head of the central bank. (Reporting by Andrius Sytas; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Tomasz Janowski)
Latvia's conservative-nationalist party Nacionālā Apvienība (ECR) is leading the polls ahead of the European elections, beating even the ruling coalition Jaunā Vienotība (EPP), but with 16 lists currently vying for at least one of Latvia's nine seats, the results are too close to predict.
A Russian defence ministry proposal to revise Russia’s maritime border in the eastern Baltic Sea created concern among NATO’s Northern members on Wednesday (22 May).
Sweden's Centre Party will push for the Swedish Liberals to be expelled from their common Renew Europe group in the European Parliament after the EU elections if they continue cooperating with the far-right Sweden Democrats at the national level, the party's MEP Emma Wiesner said on Tuesday.
Swedish Social Democrats are calling on the European Union to introduce an identity verification requirement across social media to prevent the creation of fake accounts, former prime minister Magdalena Andersson and socialist MEP Heléne Fritzon said on Thursday, following the recent revelations of alleged far-right troll farms.
Sweden’s centre-right coalition of the Moderates, Christian Democrats (CD), and Liberals is now facing turbulent waters as revelations about its ally, the far-right Sweden Democrats (SD), allegedly running a troll farm, threaten to upset the political balance.
Charlie Weimers, MEP and vice-president of the hard-right European Conservatives and Reformists group (ECR), said he was in favour of an agreement with the centre-right EPP similar to the one the Swedish ruling coalition has, but without Ursula von der Leyen as EU Commission chief.
Sweden is open to the possibility of having nuclear weapons on its soil in the event of war, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said on Monday, calming the concerns of local communities by asserting that any action would be on “Swedish terms”.
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, pressed by the opposition and members of his own coalition, claimed on Wednesday to be taking very seriously accusations of a “troll farm”, allegedly run by the far-right Sweden Democrats (SD) on whom his majority depends, despite the party denying any illegal activity.
Denmark and Sweden have decided to strengthen their defence cooperation, including joint procurement of military equipment and cooperation in the Baltic Sea region, with Danish and Swedish defence ministers Troels Lund Poulsen and Pål Jonson signing a memorandum of understanding on Tuesday.
Ukrainian refugees under temporary protection in Sweden will be able to register much faster and receive a higher settlement allowance, the Swedish government announced on Monday, much to the dismay of the far right.
