Businesses relieved as EP’s centrist majority holds, but urge swift deal

Business groups across Europe were relieved that centrist, pro-EU parties would retain a majority of the European Parliament following Sunday’s European Parliament elections results, but called on lawmakers to reach an agreement quickly. 

Despite the rise of far-right parties in some member states sending shockwaves through several European governments, in Brussels, post-vote political balances show that a steady pro-EU coalition is now a realistic scenario for Parliament.

The previous informal “von der Leyen” coalition of centre-right EPP, centre-left S&D and liberal Renew group gained a total 403 out of 720 seats in the European Parliament, according to Europe Elects projections, paving the way for a new centrist majority.

“It is good that the pro-European parties are still clearly in the majority in the European Parliament,” said Tanja Gönner, managing director of German industry organisation BDI – urging MEPs to “take responsibility and swiftly agree on a strong leadership team with a growth plan for Europe” . 

The European Banking Federation similarly welcomed the confirmed centrist majority, but also said that, while “there has been no far-right takeover as some predicted […], their influence is evidently growing.”

“The increase in the number of right-wing populist MEPs is a worrying sign,” BDI’s Gönner added, warning that “the proportion of those who […] want to shape and strengthen Europe is dwindling.” 

Ahead of the EU election, German businesses, in particular, warned citizens against voting for far-right parties, such as the country’s AfD – which came out in second place on Sunday, at 15.9%, and joined first alongside the CDU/CSU with young voters aged 16-24. 

They also highlighted last week that a country’s exit from the EU—also called ‘Dexit’—as mulled by the AfD would be disastrous for the German economy, which is particularly reliant on exports and international trade.

Concern over dissent

Meanwhile, potential group dissenters are concerning, according to Nils Redeker, deputy director of Berlin-based think-tank Jacques Delors Centre.

Redeker, pointing to MEPs from the three groups who did not support von der Leyen’s first election, said at an election analysis event on Monday morning that in 2019, there was a 13% share of “dissenters.”

“At the moment, the von der Leyen camp is assuming around 15% deviation,” he said, adding that the centrist majority would not be secured. 

German machinery-maker association VDMA’s managing director Thilo Brodtmann said that “European parties should come to an agreement quickly, form a centrist coalition, and decide on their candidate for the role of Commission president—so that the next European Commission can come together and get to work.” 

Meanwhile, trade unions, like business associations, generally welcomed that non-extremist pro-EU groups will represent a majority in the next Parliament.

“[This] means there is no need, or excuse, for backroom deals with any part of the anti-worker far-right,” said European Trade Union Confederation General Secretary Esther Lynch, whose organisation represents 45 million workers across the bloc.

Unlike business groups, however, Lynch called on EU policymakers to address the social and economic causes of the swelling support for far-right parties.

“These preliminary results… make clear that business as usual cannot continue,” she had said on Sunday, adding that leaders must “urgently resolve the economic and social insecurity that lies behind growing anger and fear in our society”.

Elsewhere, France’s largest business association – Mouvement des Entreprises de France (MEDEF) was more pessimistic after President Emmanuel Macron dissolved the parliament and called snap elections in reaction to far-right Rassemblement National’s (RN) victory.

Warning against the disastrous effects that far-right rhetoric would have on the country’s business environment, MEDEF’s president Patrick Martin wrote on X: “A new campaign is starting in which we will not share certain political visions [that are] incompatible with the competitiveness of #enterprises, the prosperity of the country and our fellow citizens.”

[Edited by Anna Brunetti/Alice Taylor]

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