Certainly, the proponents of the European Union can put a positive spin on the results of the European elections. They can point out that the gains for far-right parties were smaller than many forecasts in recent weeks had feared. They can calculate that Europe's Christian Democrats and Social Democrats will likely have more than twice as many seats in the future EU Parliament as right-wing conservatives and extremist right wing parties (at least if one excludes currently non-affiliated parties like AfD or Fidesz). Or they can highlight individual national results, such as in Poland, where Donald Tusk's pro-European party achieved a clear electoral victory.

But that is at best half the truth. The gains for many Eurosceptic or even Euro-hostile parties illustrate the distrust many citizens have towards a European Union that is seen by many more as a problem than a solution. The crux is that the very issues that concern citizens the most are no longer solvable at a national level but require collective European action – from climate protection to migration to defence. Yet it is precisely on these points that distrust runs deep, and agreements reached in Brussels such as the ban on combustion engines, or aid to Ukraine, fuel criticism of the EU.

Moreover, it would be a mistake to look only at the overall distribution of votes in the EU Parliament. The „netting“ of individual results risks overlooking that the outcome of the European elections in some member states still holds plenty of explosive potential – for example, in Austria, but certainly most obviously in France. The consequences for the EU would be considerable if Marine Le Pen were to come to power in Paris – after all, the functioning of the Franco-German tandem remains crucial for the EU.