In what is likely the biggest election year ever, citizens of the European Union went to the polls in June to choose their elected representatives. The vote took place across the 27 EU member states and elected the 720 members of the European Parliament (MEPs, in EU terminology) for the legislative cycle of 2024-29.

European elections are an important moment for the “old continent,” even if they’re not always perceived as such. Sometimes national governments and citizens alike view them as a vote of confidence (or distrust) in the national political parties holding power or dismiss them as an opportunity to send local politicians (as a career reward or out of convenience) to a faraway land.

But what happens in Brussels, the seat of the main EU institutions, does matter. Political decisions and legislation made in EU’s capital have a growing impact on the lives of the more than 450 million EU citizens, in areas as diverse as climate change and sustainability, agriculture, education, digital rights and artificial intelligence, consumer protection, energy and food security, international trade and security. EU regulations and standards are increasingly adopted not just by European firms, but also by global companies, shaping the environment for businesses around the world and extending the reach of the European Union well beyond its geographic borders.

Overall, the results of the June elections were not unexpected. The center-right European People’s Party (EPP) remains the dominant political force in the European Parliament, followed by the center-left Socialists & Democrats (S&D). The novelty in relation to previous years is that parties at the far right of the political spectrum — many of them pursuing EU-skeptical, anti-system, anti-migration and sovereign-minded agendas — substantially increased their number of MEPs, largely at the expense of the greens (The Greens/European Free Alliance), and will therefore have more leverage over EU policies than before.

These parties include Europe of Sovereign Nations and Patriots for Europe, the latter currently the third political force in the European Parliament. This outcome follows a trend also observed at the national level in several EU countries, including in France and Germany, the two most populous EU countries and its largest economies, where the far right has been gaining ground over recent years and decades.

In the weeks since the elections, MEPs have been negotiating to form political groups, elect the chairs of different committees and occupy other key positions within the European Parliament. They will also have an important role in approving (or rejecting) the candidates nominated by national capitals and chosen by the already elected European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, to form the College of Commissioners, which is the team of political appointees that heads the different policy areas of the EU’s executive arm, the European Commission. The so-called grilling of the commissioners-designate by the European Parliament will take place after the summer. In the meantime, the next commission’s Political Guidelines for 2024-29 are out and provide the strategic direction in which the institution will be heading in its next mandate. It will be followed by work plans that will translate those strategic priorities into concrete proposals.

With so many new faces and much uncertainty, what can public affairs teams on the other side of the Atlantic do to find their way in the new “Brussels Bubble”?

Understanding and Navigating a Complex Landscape

When working with EU institutions and stakeholders, understanding and navigating complexity is key. EU policymaking is a complex (and often lengthy) process that involves extensive negotiations among the European Commission, the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union. Understanding the timings, the key interlocutors and the “rules of engagement” is critical for any company or organization that wants to influence EU policy. It’s never too early to understand how this process works, identify your key issues and stakeholders, and plan for how you will engage.

The current geopolitical environment represents an additional challenge for the European Union and is therefore a reality that public affairs teams will need to consider. With political uncertainty in many countries around the world (including a key EU ally, the United States), a military conflict in its eastern border (Ukraine), trade tensions between strategic commercial partners (the United States and China), doubts over the future of a critical military alliance (NATO), and a race for global primacy in some key industrial sectors (particularly technology and digital innovation), policymaking in Brussels is increasingly high-stakes with strategic repercussions, both at home and abroad. The world is changing, and the EU’s place in it is changing, too. Public affairs teams who can understand the challenges faced by EU policymakers, provide constructive contributions and expertise to the policymaking debate, and integrate their goals with EU strategic objectives will increase their chances of success.