2014 European Parliament election

2014 European Parliament election

← 2009 22–25 May 2014 2019 →
← outgoing members elected members →
All 751 seats in the European Parliament 376 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	163,551,013 (42.54%[1] 0.7 pp)
Leader Jean-Claude Juncker Martin Schulz Syed Kamall Alliance EPP S&D ECR Leader's seat Luxembourg[a] Germany London Last election 265 (36%) 183 (25%) 54 (7.3%) Seats before 274 183 57 Seats won 221 185 45 Seats after 221 (29.4%) 191 (25.4%) 70 (9.3%) Seat change 44 8 16 Popular vote 38,610,376 40,202,068 8,612,168 Percentage 23.8% 24.4% 5.2% Swing 6.6% 0.4% 2.0%   Leader Guy Verhofstadt Alexis Tsipras Ska Keller José Bové Alliance ALDE GUE/NGL Greens/EFA Leader's seat Belgium (Dutch) Greece[a] Germany France Last election 84 (11.4%) 35 (4.8%) 55 (7.5%) Seats before 83 35 58 Seats won 59 45 47 Seats after 67 (8.9%) 52 (6.9%) 50 (6.7%) Seat change 16 17 5 Popular vote 11,652,405 9,243,548 12,058,475 Percentage 7.0% 5.6% 7.3% Swing 2.5% 2.1% 0.8%   Leader Nigel Farage & David Borrelli Alliance EFDD Leader's seat South East England North-East Italy Last election 32 (4.3%) Seats before 31 Seats won 38 Seats after 48 (6.4%) Seat change 16 Popular vote 10,830,339 Percentage 6.6% Swing 2.1%
Post-election composition of each member state's delegation
President of the European Commission before election José Manuel Barroso EPP President of the European Commission after election Jean-Claude Juncker EPP

This article is part of a series on
Politics of the European Union
Member states (27)  Austria  Belgium  Bulgaria  Croatia  Cyprus  Czech Republic  Denmark  Estonia  Finland  France  Germany  Greece  Hungary  Ireland  Italy  Latvia  Lithuania  Luxembourg  Malta  Netherlands  Poland  Portugal  Romania  Slovakia  Slovenia  Spain  Sweden Candidate countries Albania Bosnia and Herzegovina Georgia Moldova Montenegro North Macedonia Serbia Ukraine Countries with suspended accession negotiations Turkey Applicant countries Kosovo Special territories Belgium–Germany relations France–Germany relations Germany–Netherlands relations EU 3 Withdrawal from the European Union
Treaties and Declarations Schuman Declaration (1950) Treaty of Paris (1951) Europe Declaration (1951) Spaak Report (1956) Treaty of Rome (1957) Euratom Treaty (1957) Merger Treaty (1965) Solemn Declaration (1983) Single European Act (1986) Maastricht Treaty (1992) Treaty of Amsterdam (1997) Treaty of Nice (2001) Berlin Declaration (2007) Treaty of Lisbon (2007) Article 7 Article 50 Opt-outs Treaties of accession 1972, 1979, 1985, 1994, 2003, 2005, 2011 Treaties of succession 1984, 2020 Other treaties Schengen Agreement (1985) European Economic Area Agreement (1992) Abandoned treaties and agreements European Constitution (2004) UK membership renegotiation (2015–2016)
Executive institutions European Council President: Michel (ALDE) Parties List of meetings European Commission Von der Leyen Commission President: Von der Leyen (EPP) Vice Presidents College of Commissioners Civil Service Secretary-General: Juhansone
Legislative institutions Legislative procedure Council of the EU Presidency Hungary (July–December 2024) Configurations GAC FAC ECOFIN Eurogroup AGRIFISH EPSCO COMPET TTE ENVI JHA EYC Voting Secretariat Secretary-General: Thérèse Blanchet Directorates-general Council preparatory bodies COREPER Council Working Parties European Parliament (Members) President: Metsola Largest groups EPP (Manfred Weber) S&D (Iratxe García) Member of the European Parliament 10th session (2024–2029) Bureau Vice Presidents Quaestor Conference National parliaments
Judicial institutions Court of Justice of the EU European Court of Justice Members Advocates General Rulings General Court
Auditory institutions European Court of Auditors European Court of Auditors Other auditory bodies Internal Audit Service of the Commission Committee on Budgetary Control of the Parliament Economic and Financial Affairs configuration of the Council Anti-Fraud Office Public Prosecutor's Office
European Central Bank President Lagarde ESCB EMU Euro banknotes Euro coins
Other bodies European Investment Bank Group Investment Bank Investment Fund EIB Institute European Stability Mechanism European Stability Mechanism European University Institute European University Institute Unified Patent Court Unified Patent Court Agencies, decentralised independent bodies and joint undertakings Decentralised agencies of the EU Single market agencies CFSP agencies AFSC agencies ESFS European Supervisory Authorities SRM bodies Executive agencies of the EU Euratom agencies Decentralised independent bodies of the EU European Institute of Innovation and Technology European Public Prosecutor's Office Corporate bodies of the EU European Data Protection Board Authority for European Political Parties and European Political Foundations Joint undertakings of the EU of the Euratom Other independent bodies European Data Protection Supervisor European Ombudsman Advisory bodies European Committee of the Regions European Economic and Social Committee Political and Security Committee European Union Military Committee EU/ESA Space Council Inter-institutional bodies Publications Office of the European Union European External Action Service European Personnel Selection Office Anti-Fraud Office European Administrative School
Euratom Euratom members  Austria  Belgium  Bulgaria  Croatia  Cyprus  Czech Republic  Denmark  Estonia  Finland  France  Germany  Greece  Hungary  Ireland  Italy  Latvia  Lithuania  Luxembourg  Malta  Netherlands  Poland  Portugal  Romania  Slovakia  Slovenia  Spain  Sweden Associated states  Switzerland  United Kingdom Nuclear power in the European Union
Economic and Monetary Union Eurozone members Austria Belgium Croatia Cyprus Estonia Finland France Germany Greece Ireland Italy Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Netherlands Portugal Slovakia Slovenia Spain Eurogroup President Paschal Donohoe Other currencies in use Bulgarian lev Czech koruna Danish krone Hungarian forint Polish złoty Romanian leu Swedish krona ERM II Enlargement of the eurozone Non Euro countries relationship to Euro Bulgaria Czechia Denmark Hungary Poland Sweden Romania
Schengen Area  Austria  Belgium  Bulgaria  Croatia  Czech Republic  Denmark  Estonia  Finland  France  Germany  Greece  Hungary  Italy  Latvia  Lithuania  Luxembourg  Malta  Netherlands  Poland  Portugal  Romania  Slovakia  Slovenia  Spain  Sweden Non-EU members  Iceland  Liechtenstein  Norway  Switzerland Prüm Convention Schengen Information System Visa Information System Visa policy of the Schengen Area Non-Schengen area EU member states  Cyprus  Ireland (Opt-out)
European Economic Area EEA members Austria Belgium Bulgaria Croatia (provisional member) Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Ireland Italy Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Netherlands Poland Portugal Romania Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden Non-EU members  Iceland  Liechtenstein  Norway Topics EEA Joint Committee EEA National Identity cards Microstates and the European Union
Elections Elections to the European Parliament European parties European foundations Political groups of the European Parliament Spitzenkandidat Constituencies Apportionment Referendums related to the EU European elections 1979 1984 1989 1994 1999 2004 2009 2014 2019 2024 (latest election) Elections in EU member states Austria Belgium Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Ireland Italy Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Netherlands Poland Portugal Romania Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden
Law Acquis Primacy (ECJ Case 6/64) Subsidiarity Regulation Directive Decision Recommendation Fundamental Rights
Policies and issues Budget Customs Union Free Trade Agreements European Single Market Area of FS&J Policies Agricultural Energy Fisheries Regional Citizenship Passports of the European Union Identity Pro-Europeanism Euroscepticism European banking union European Banking Supervision Single Resolution Mechanism Capital Markets Union European System of Financial Supervision Integration Supranationalism European Federation Multi-speed Europe Enhanced cooperation
Foreign relations High Representative Josep Borrell Ext. Action Service Foreign Policy Defence Policy Foreign relations of EU member states Austria Belgium Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Ireland Italy Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Netherlands Poland Portugal Romania Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden Argentina–European Union relations Armenia–European Union relations Australia–European Union relations Brazil–European Union relations Canada–European Union relations China–European Union relations European Union–NATO relations Georgia–European Union relations Iceland–European Union relations Kazakhstan–European Union relations Japan–European Union relations Mexico–European Union relations Moldova–European Union relations Norway–European Union relations Russia–European Union relations Switzerland–European Union relations Turkey–European Union relations Ukraine–European Union relations United Kingdom–European Union relations (History) Post-Brexit United Kingdom relations with the European Union Brexit United States–European Union relations Common Travel Area (Ireland) Microstates and the European Union European Union and the United Nations European Union Association Agreement G7 G20
Defunct bodies European Communities (1958–1993) European Coal and Steel Community European Economic Community European Community Western European Union Convention on the Future of Europe
European Union portal Other countries
v t e

The 2014 European Parliament election was held in the European Union (EU) between 22 and 25 May 2014. It was the 8th parliamentary election since the first direct elections in 1979, and the first in which the European political parties fielded candidates for President of the Commission.

The candidates, sometimes referred to by the German term Spitzenkandidaten (English: top candidates),^[2] were Jean-Claude Juncker for the European People's Party,^[3] Martin Schulz for the Party of European Socialists, Guy Verhofstadt for the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party, Ska Keller and José Bové jointly for the European Green Party and Alexis Tsipras for the Party of the European Left. The Alliance of European Conservatives and Reformists^[4] and the European Alliance for Freedom declined to nominate candidates.

While the European People's Party lost ground to the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats, it remained the largest faction in the new Parliament, resulting in the EPP's nomination of Jean-Claude Juncker as Commission President at the European Council. In turn, the European Council accepted the nomination by a simple majority (only David Cameron and Viktor Orban voted against Juncker).

The Council of the European Union decided to hold the 2014 elections in late May instead of early June as had been the case with previous EP elections.^[5] The elections were brought forward to provide more time for the election of a president of the European Commission, and because they would otherwise have coincided with the Pentecost weekend which falls during school holidays in many member states.^[6]

The ongoing Eurozone crisis, an offshoot of the Great Recession, started several months after the last Parliament election in June 2009.^[7] Although it affected most EU member states, the hardest-hit economies were those of southern Europe: Greece, Cyprus, Italy, Spain, and Portugal, along with Ireland. Among other reasons, harsh austerity measures significantly affected the public approval of EU leadership. The percentage of Greeks approving the EU leadership decreased from 32% in 2010 to 19% in 2013, while in Spain, the approval dwindled more than a half from 59% in 2008 to 27% in 2013.^[8] Overall, only four of the 27 members countries approved the EU leadership.^[9] Peter S. Goodman suggests that "distrust about the treaties and conventions that hold together modern Europe appear at an all-time high."^[10] "Europe's establishment parties are widely expected to suffer their worst performance" since 1979, with the three mainstream parties (EPP, PES, ALDE) expected to collectively gain 63% of the vote, a 10% loss since 2009.^[11]

The Economist estimated in January 2014 that "anti-EU populists of the left and right could take between 16% and 25% of the parliament's seats, up from 12% today."^[12] Euromoney predicted "anti-EU populists and nationalists" winning around 150 seats in the parliament, almost 20% of the total.^[13] A Policy Network article from February 2014 suggested that despite the media focus on anti-EU parties, they "will undoubtedly remain modest compared to" other mainstream parties, but "their growth and their intentions to cooperate, signify important changes for the EU and European politics."^[14] In several countries, far-right and right-wing populist parties were expected to be in contention to poll the most votes in this election, including parties in Austria (Freedom Party),^[15] Denmark (People's Party),^[16] France (National Front),^[17] the Netherlands (Party for Freedom),^[18] and the UK (UKIP).^[19] In Greece, the left-wing Coalition of the Radical Left (SYRIZA) consistently led the polling in the leadup to the election.^[20] In Italy the populist and anti-establishment Five Star Movement, according to the polls, was expected to be the second most popular party after the Democratic Party, with about 25% of votes.^[21]

In January 2014, José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, said, "We are seeing, in fact, a rise of extremism from the extreme right and from the extreme left" and suggested that the election might become "a festival of unfounded reproaches against Europe."^[22]

The Lisbon Treaty, which entered into force on 1 December 2009, provides that the European Parliament shall endorse or veto the appointment of the president of the European Commission on the basis of a proposal made by the European Council, taking into account the European elections (article 17, paragraph 7 of the Treaty on European Union). This provision applied for the first time for the 2014 elections.

Nevertheless, senior figures such as European Council president Herman Van Rompuy,^[23] German Chancellor Angela Merkel,^[24] and former Commission president Jacques Delors^[25] questioned the aspiration of European political parties to link the presidency of the European Commission with the result of the European elections and insisted that the future Commission president has to suit Member States' expectations first.

Based on these new provisions, the following European political parties designated candidates for Commission president ahead of the 2014 election: the Party of European Socialists (PES),^[26][27][28] the European People's Party (EPP),^[29] the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party (ALDE party),^[30] the European Green Party (EGP),^[31] the Party of European Left (EL)^[32] and the European Democratic Party.^[33]

On 6 and 7 March 2014, the congress of the European People's Party in Dublin elected Jean-Claude Juncker as its presidential candidate, who run against Michel Barnier,^[34] and adopted an election manifesto.^[35][36] Juncker set out the priorities he would have as president:^[3]

1. Create growth and jobs
2. Reform and reorganise the European energy policy into a new energy union
3. Negotiate a reasonable and balanced trade agreement with the United States
4. Continue with the reform of the Economic and Monetary Union, with the European social dimension in mind
   1. Re-balance the relationship between elected politicians and the European Central Bank in the daily management of the Eurozone
   2. Re-balance the way in which we grant conditional stability support to Eurozone countries in financial difficulties
   3. Strengthen the external projection of our monetary union
5. give an answer to the British question

Juncker also set out five priorities on the subject of immigration:

1. Implement the Common European Asylum System
2. Step up the practical assistance provided by the European Asylum Support Office
3. Step up cooperation with third countries, particularly North African countries
4. More political determination when it comes to legal migration
5. Secure Europe's borders

Finally he set out three foreign policy objectives:

1. Making the High Representative act like a true European Minister of Foreign Affairs
2. Permanent structured cooperation in defence matters
3. A pause for enlargement

The Common Candidate process of the Party of European Socialists was carried out according to the following timetable:^[37]

• 1–31 October 2013: nominations.
• 6 November 2013: PES Presidency meeting to check the candidacies and publish the official list of candidates.
• 1 December 2013 – 31 January 2014: internal selection process within each member Party or organisation.
• February 2014: PES Election Congress to ratify the votes on the candidate, adopt the Manifesto, and launch the PES European election campaign.

Following the defeat of the Party of European Socialists during the European elections of June 2009, the PES made the decision that PES would designate its candidate for Commission president in December 2009, which rapidly triggered debates about how to select this candidate.^[38] The PES Congress gathering in Brussels in November 2011 made the decision that it would select the PES candidate through internal primaries in each of its member parties and organisations.^[39] Member parties and organisations are free to determine their own voting process, including by opening it to non-members.

• Possible candidates: José Luis Zapatero, Margot Wallström, Helle Thorning Schmidt, Frans Timmermans, Borut Pahor, Sergei Stanishev, Wouter Bos, José Sócrates, Werner Faymann,^[40] Pascal Lamy.^[25]
• Declared candidate: Martin Schulz^{[41][42][43][44]}
• Elected candidate: Martin Schulz

The timetable of the Alliance for Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party (ALDE) for designating its candidate for President of the European Commission is:^[45]

• 28–30 November: Nominations opens & Election Manifesto adopted at London Congress
• 19 December: Pre-Summit liberal leaders meeting to discuss nominations received
• 20 December: Nominations formally close
• 1 February: ALDE Party Candidate to be announced at special Electoral Congress, Brussels

In 2012, the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party (ALDE) members were said to be "struggling" to find a candidate for Commission president ahead of the 2014 European elections. Guy Verhofstadt was considered to be the likely nominee, but a meeting of the then-ELDR party held in Dublin from 8 to 10 November 2012 did not agree to formally nominate him yet; concerns voiced included the fact that it was considered unlikely that Verhofstadt would have a chance of getting elected as President of the European Commission, as Anders Fogh Rasmussen (the incumbent Secretary General of NATO) was expected to be appointed to the post of President of the European Council or High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy after the 2014 election, and two liberal politicians in the EU's top ranks were not expected to be considered acceptable. While a compromise position was reached (to nominate a candidate for Commission President "in time for the 2014 European Parliamentary election campaign"), the corresponding resolution was not passed due to disagreements on other points included in the resolution.^[46] The ALDE political party finally decided to discuss candidates at the party's pre-summit meeting at the margins of the 19–20 December European Council.^[47] Belgian daily De Standaard and EU news website EurActiv reported during the summit that the ALDE party has appointed Mark Rutte and Christian Lindner as 'mediators' between Rehn and Verhofstadt to work out who would be the candidate.

• Possible candidates: Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Guy Verhofstadt, Olli Rehn^[48]
• Declared candidates: Guy Verhofstadt, Olli Rehn
• Elected Candidate: Guy Verhofstadt^[49]

In July 2013 European Green Party (EGP) announced that it would run an open primary online.^[50] Open to all inhabitants in the union over the age of 16 who "support green values",^[51] this resulted in Ska Keller and José Bové being elected candidates. Other qualified candidates were Rebecca Harms and Monica Frassoni.^[52]

Meeting on 19 October 2013 in Madrid, the Council of chairpersons of the Party of the European Left (EL) decided to designate a common candidate for the president of the European Commission to prevent "the forces responsible for the crisis" from keeping the monopoly during the electoral campaign. The Council reaffirmed however that this new measure "will not hide, as European leaders and the troika hope, their authoritarianism".

The Council decided to submit to the decision of the next Congress, 13 to 15 December in Madrid, the candidacy of Alexis Tsipras,^[32][53][54] who "would be the voice of resistance and hope against the ultra-liberal policies and facing the threat of the extreme right". As Alexis Tsipras will therefore be the only candidate for the job, the Council has mandated the Presidency of the EL to consult all members and observers parties of the EL and the GUE/NGL group in the European parliament about this application. Tsipras's candidature was confirmed on 15 December.^[55] Alexis Tsipras was elected.

On 2 December 2013 in Rome, the Council of the European Democratic Party decided to designate a candidate on the occasion of the next meeting in February 2014,^[33] along with its manifesto. The next president of the Commission will have to "settle a more political Commission". Allied with the Liberals in the ALDE Group but opposed to Olli Rehn, the European Democratic Party welcomed the candidature of Guy Verhofstadt, ALDE Group leader.^[56] The party adopted its manifesto on 28 February and named Guy Verhofstadt as its candidate for the Presidency of the European Commission on 12 March.^[57] Guy Verhofstadt was elected.

The Alliance of European Conservatives and Reformists did not present a candidate for the European Commission presidency. They argued that participating in the process would legitimate a federalist vision of a European super-state and that the lack of a European demos makes the process illegitimate.^[58]

The European Free Alliance stands for "a Europe of Free Peoples based on the principle of subsidiarity, which believe in solidarity with each other and the peoples of the world."^[59] It consists of various national-level political parties in Europe advocating either full political independence (statehood), or some form of devolution or self-governance for their country or region. The alliance has generally limited its membership to progressive parties, and therefore, not all European regionalist parties are members of EFA. The EFA stands on the left of the political spectrum, and in the Brussels declaration it emphasises the protection of human rights, sustainable development and social justice. In 2007 the EFA congress in Bilbao added several progressive principles to the declaration: including a commitment to fight against racism, antisemitism, discrimination, xenophobia and islamophobia and a commitment to get full citizenship for migrants, including voting rights.

The European Christian Political Movement, abbreviated to ECPM, is a European political party that unites national parties from across Europe that share Christian democratic politics. The member parties are generally more socially conservative and Eurosceptic than the European People's Party, not only at this election allied with the AECR, without any candidate as well.^{[citation needed]}

The newly founded European Pirate Party elected MEP Amelia Andersdotter (who is running for re-election) and The Pirate Bay co-founder Peter Sunde (running for election in Finland) as its candidates for the European Commission presidency.^[60] The European Pirate Party is not recognised as a European political party.

The lead candidates designated for nomination to the European Commission presidency participated in various debates, conducted in different countries and variously, in French, German and English. A total of ten debates were held through April and May in the lead up to the election period. Five debates were designed as head-to-head debates between the representatives of the two leading European political parties: Jean-Claude Juncker of the European People's Party and Martin Schulz of the Party of European Socialists. Four others were open to all nominated lead candidates, while one French-language debate was held between José Bové of the European Green Party and Guy Verhofstadt of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party.

No pan-European opinion polls are carried out; however, several institutes compiled predictions of the outcome of the elections based on national polls.

Some of the institutes below, such as Pollwatch,^[66] applied algorithms to the national poll results before aggregating them, in an attempt to account for the lower than expected results received by governing parties in previous European Parliament elections. However, other institutions did not share the expectation that governing parties would automatically perform worse than the polls suggest.

Note: Percentages indicate proportion of predicted seats and not vote share.

Decisions on the apportionment of seats in the Parliament are governed by article 14 of the Treaty of Lisbon. This article lays down that "The European Parliament shall be composed of representatives of the Union's citizens. They shall not exceed seven hundred and fifty in number, plus the President. Representation of citizens shall be degressively proportional, with a minimum threshold of six members per Member State. No Member State shall be allocated more than ninety-six seats."

It had been the stated desire of the member-state governments to ratify the Treaty of Lisbon before the 2009 election, so that its articles governing the European Parliament could be in force for that election. However, this was blocked by the Irish rejection of the treaty in a referendum. Therefore, in June 2009, the European Parliament was elected under the rules of the Treaty of Nice, which provided for 736 seats, instead of the 751 to be provided in the Treaty of Lisbon.

The Lisbon Treaty was subsequently ratified, and provisional measures were ratified in December 2011 to give the 18 additional seats, to the countries entitled to them, before the 2014 elections, without withdrawing Germany's 3 extra seats. These 18 additional MEPs brought the number of MEPs to 754 temporarily until 2014.^[109] These 18 "phantom MEPs" would initially have observer status, before becoming full members of the parliament if an additional protocol is ratified by 2014.^[110][111]

Thus the 2014 election will be the first to apply the apportionment of seats provided by the Lisbon treaty.

Andrew Duff MEP (ALDE, UK) tabled two reports in March 2011 and September 2012 proposing new apportionments of seats (see table opposite). Article 14 provides that "The European Council shall adopt by unanimity, on the initiative of the European Parliament and with its consent, a decision establishing the composition of the European Parliament", respecting the principle of degressive proportionality, the threshold of 6 MEPs for smaller member states and the limit of 96 MEPs for larger member states.

22 May	23 May	24 May	25 May	Map
Netherlands, United Kingdom (including Gibraltar)	Ireland	Latvia, Malta, Slovakia, French Overseas Territories	Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Metropolitan France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sweden, Slovenia, Spain
	Czech Republic

The centre-right European People's Party won the most seats, but came up well short of a majority. In Denmark, France, and United Kingdom rightist groups opposed to the European Union won "unprecedented" victories according to some news organisations such as Reuters. Elsewhere, populist parties won significant seats. In total, roughly a quarter of all seats went to parties sceptical of the EU or protest parties. Thus, the election was seen as anti-establishment. In the wake of the election, several prominent political figures said the EU needed to realign its priorities in a hurry. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte called for "fewer rules and less fuss", while British Prime Minister David Cameron said "Europe should concentrate on what matters, on growth and jobs, and not try to do so much."^[112]

State	Political groups of the 7th European Parliament (previous session)[113]																		MEPs		Note
	EPP (EPP)		S&D (PES)		ECR (AECR, ECPM)		ALDE (ALDE, EDP)		GUE/NGL (EL, NGLA, EACL)		G-EFA (EGP, EFA)		EFD (MELD)		NI		New parties w/o affiliation[b]
Germany	29 (CDU) 5 (CSU)	−5 −3	27 (SPD)	+4			3 (FDP)	−9	7 (Linke)	−1	11 (B'90/Grüne)	−3					7 (AfD)[114] 1 (FW)[115] 1 (Piraten) 1 (Tierschutz)[116] 1 (NPD) 1 (Familie)[117] 1 (ÖDP)[118] 1 (Partei)	+14	96	−3	[119]
France	20 (UMP)	−9	12+1 (PS+PRG)	−1			3+4 (UDI+MoDem)	−3	3 (FG) 1 (UOM)	−1 =	6 (EE)	−6	0 (MPF)	−1	23 + 1 (FN)[c]	+21			74	=	[121] [122] [123]
United Kingdom			20 (LAB)	+7	19 (CON) 1 (UUP)	−7 =	1 (LD)	−11	1 (SF)	=	3 (GPEW) 2 (SNP) 1 (PC)	+1 = =	24 (UKIP)	+11	1 (DUP) 0 (BNP)	= −2			73	=	[124] [125]
Italy	13 (FI) 2+1 (NCD+UDC) 1 (SVP)	−16 -2 =	31 (PD)	+10			0 (IdV)	−7	3 (AET)	+3			5 (LN)	−4			17 (M5S)[126]	+17	73	=
Spain	16 (PP) 1 (CpE: UDC)	−8 =	13+1 (PSOE+PSC)	−9			1+1 (CpE: CDC+PNV)	=	4+1 (IP: IU+Anova)	+4	2 (EPDD) 1 (LPD: EH Bildu+BNG)[127] 1 (PE: Comp.+Equo) 1 (IP: ICV)	+1~2 +0~1 +1 =			4 (UPyD)[128]	+3	5 (Podemos)[129] 2 (C's)[128]	+7	54	=
Poland	19 (PO) 4 (PSL)	-6 0	4+1 (SLD+UP)	−2	18+1 (PiS+PR)	+4											4 (KNP)	+4	51	=
Romania	5 (PDL) 2 (UDMR) 2 (PMP) 0 (Băsescu)	−5 −1 +2 −1	13+1+2 (PSD+PC+UNPR)	+5			6 (PNL)[130]	+1							0 (PRM)	−3	1 (Diaconu)[131]	+1	32	−1	[132]
Netherlands	5 (CDA)	=	3 (PvdA)	=	1 (CU)	=	4 (D66) 3 (VVD)	+1 =	2 (SP)	=	2 (GL)	−1	1 (SGP)[133]	=	4 (PVV)	=	1 (PvdD)[134]	+1	26	+1
Belgium	2 (CD&V) 1 (CDH) 1 (CSP)	−1 = =	3 (PS) 1 (SP.A)	= −1	0 (LDD)	−1	3 (Open VLD) 3 (MR)	= +1			4 (N-VA) 1 (Groen) 1 (Ecolo)	+3 = −1			1 (VB)	−1			21	−1
Czech Republic	3+1 (TOP 09+STAN) 3 (KDU-ČSL)	+4 +1	4 (ČSSD)	−3	2 (ODS)	−7			3 (KSČM)	−1							4 (ANO)[135] 1 (Svobodní)[136]	+5	21	−1	[137]
Greece	5 (ND)	−3	2 (Elia: PASOK)	−6					6 (SYRIZA) 2 (KKE)	+5 =	0 (OP)	−1	0 (LAOS)	−2			3 (XA) 1 (ANEL)[117] 2 (Potami)	+6	21	−1
Hungary	11+1 (Fidesz+KDNP)	−2	2 (MSZP)	−2	0 (MDF)	−1					1 (LMP)	+1			3 (Jobbik)	=	2 (DK) 0+1 (Együtt+PM)	+3	21	−1	[138]
Portugal	6+1 (PSD+CDS-PP)	−3	8 (PS)	+1					3 (CDU: PCP) 1 (BE)	+1 −2							2 (MPT)[128]	+2	21	−1	[139]
Sweden	3 (M) 1 (KD)	−1 =	5 (S)	-1			2 (FP) 1 (C)	−1 =	1 (V)	=	4 (MP) 0 (PP)	+2 −2					2 (SD)[120] 1 (FI)[140]	+3	20	=	[141]
Austria	5 (ÖVP)	−1	5 (SPÖ)	=			1 (NEOS)	+1			3 (Grüne)	+1			4 (FPÖ) 0 (MARTIN) 0 (BZÖ)	+2 −3 −1			18	−1
Bulgaria	6 (GERB) 1 (RB: DSB) 0 (RB: SDS)	+1 = −1	4 (KB: BSP)	=			4 (DPS) 0 (NDSV)	+1 −2							0 (Ataka)	−2	1 (BBTs)[142] 1 (VMRO)[d]	+2	17	−1	[144]
Finland	3 (Kok.) 0 (KD)	= −1	2 (SDP)	=			3 (Kesk.) 1 (RKP)	= =	1 (Vas.)	+1	1 (Vihr.)	−1	2 (PS)[117]	+1					13	=
Denmark	1 (K)	=	3 (S)	−1			2 (V) 1 (RV)	−1 +1	1 (N)	=	1 (SF)	−1	4 (DF)[117]	+2					13	=	[145]
Slovakia	2 (KDH) 2 (SDKÚ-DS) 1 (SMK) 1 (Most-Híd)	= = −1 +1	4 (Smer)	−1			1 (SaS) 0 (ĽS-HZDS)	+1 −1					0 (SNS)	−1			1 (OĽaNO)[117] 1 (Nova)	+2	13	=
Croatia	4 (HDZ) 1 (HSS)	-1 +1	2 (SDP)	−3	1 (HSP-AS)	=	1 (HNS) 1 (IDS)	+1 +1	0 (HL-SR)	−1							1 (ORaH)	+1	11	−1
Ireland	4 (FG)	=	0 (Lab)	−3			1 (FF)[e][146] 1 (Harkin)	−2 =	3 (SF) 0 (Soc)	+3 −1					1 (Childers)[147]	+1	1 (Flanagan)[127]	+1	11	−1	[148] [149] [150]
Lithuania	2 (TS-LKD)	–2	2 (LSDP)	−1	1 (LLRA)	=	2 (LRLS) 1 (DP)	+1 =					2 (TT)	=			1 (LVŽS)[118]	+1	11	−1
Latvia	4 (Vienotība)	+1	1 (Saskaņa SDP)	−1	1 (NA)	=	0 (LPP/LC)	−1	0 (LSP)	−1	1 (LKS)	=					1 (ZZS: LZS)[151]	+1	8	−1
Slovenia	3 (SDS) 1+1 (NSi+SLS)	= +1	1 (SD)	−1			0 (LDS) 0 (Zares)	−1 −1									1 (DeSUS) 1 (Verjamem)[118]	+2	8	=	[152] [153]
Cyprus	2 (DISY)	=	1 (EDEK) 1 (DIKO)	= =					2 (AKEL)	=									6	=
Estonia	1 (IRL)	=	1 (SDE)	=			2 (RE) 1 (KE)	+1 −1			1 (Tarand)	=							6	=
Luxembourg	3 (CSV)	=	1 (LSAP)	=			1 (DP)	=			1 (Gréng)	=							6	=
Malta	3 (PN)[154]	+1	3 (PL)	−1															6	=
Total [f] [g]																			MEPs
	EPP		S&D		ECR		ALDE		GUE/NGL		G-EFA		EFD		NI		New parties
	215 (28.6%)	−59	185 (24.6%)	−11	45 (6.0%)	−12	59 (7.9%)	−24	45 (6.0%)	+10	49 (6.5%)	−8	38 (5.1%)	+7	42 (5.6%)	+9	73 (9.7%)		751	−15

Between the election and the inaugural session of the 8th European Parliament, scheduled for 1 July, some parties and individual MEPs usually switch allegiances between the political groups of the European Parliament. This process, which sometimes has resulted in the disappearance of whole political groups from the Parliament, or their recomposition in another form, is particularly important for new parties and MEPs.

The following table describes the announced membership changes in the Parliament groupings and the impact on the Parliament makeup:

A group is required to be made up by at least 25 MEPs from seven Member States to be constituted in the new legislature.

A proposed European Alliance for Freedom (EAF) group, said to be composed of the French FN, Dutch PVV, Austrian FPÖ, Belgian VB and Italian LN, was unable to reach the threshold. About a year later, on 16 June 2015, the same parties formed the Europe of Nations and Freedom group together with two MEPs from KNP and a former UKIP MEP.^[158]

Based on the new groupingon the ENF, the Parliament makeup following the election were as follows:

State	Political groups of the 8th European Parliament								MEPs
	EPP	S&D	ECR	ALDE	GUE/NGL	G-EFA	EFDD	NI
Germany	29 (CDU) 5 (CSU)	27 (SPD)	7 (AfD) 1 (Familie)	3 (FDP) 1 (FW)	7 (Linke) 1 (Tierschutz)	11 (B'90/Grüne) 1 (Piraten) 1 (ÖDP)		1 (NPD) 1 (Partei)	96
France	20 (UMP)	12 (PS) 1 (PRG)		4 (MoDem) 3 (UDI)	3 (FG) 1 (UOM)	6 (EE)	1 (Bergeron)	23 (FN)	74
United Kingdom		20 (Lab)	19 (Cons.) 1 (UUP)	1 (LibDem)	1 (SF)	3 (Green) 2 (SNP) 1 (PC)	24 (UKIP)	1 (DUP)	73
Italy	13 (FI) 2 (NCD) 1 (UDC) 1 (SVP)	31 (PD)			3 (AET)		17 (M5S)	5 (LN)	73
Spain	16 (PP) 1 (UDC)	13 (PSOE) 1 (PSC)		4 (UPyD) 2 (C's) 1 (CDC) 1 (PNV)	5 (Podemos) 4 (IU) 1 (Anova) 1 (LPD)	2 (EDD) 1 (ICV) 1 (PE)			54
Poland	19 (PO) 4 (PSL)	4 (SLD) 1 (UP)	18 (PiS) 1 (PR)					4 (KNP)	51
Romania	6 (PNL) 5 (PDL) 2 (UDMR) 2 (PMP)	13 (PSD) 2 (UNPR) 1 (PC)		1 (Diaconu)					32
Netherlands	5 (CDA)	3 (PvdA)	1 (CU) 1 (SGP)	4 (D66) 3 (VVD)	2 (SP) 1 (PvdD)	2 (GL)		4 (PVV)	26
Belgium	2 (CD&V) 1 (CDH) 1 (CSP)	3 (PS) 1 (SP.A)	4 (N-VA)	3 (Open VLD) 3 (MR)		1 (Groen) 1 (Ecolo)		1 (VB)	21
Czech Republic	3 (KDU-ČSL) 3 (TOP 09) 1 (STAN)	4 (ČSSD)	2 (ODS)	4 (ANO)	3 (KSČM)		1 (Svobodní)		21
Greece	5 (ND)	2 (PASOK) 2 (Potami)	1 (ANEL)		6 (SYRIZA)			3 (XA) 2 (KKE)	21
Hungary	11 (Fidesz) 1 (KDNP)	2 (MSZP) 2 (DK)				1 (LMP) 1 (PM)		3 (Jobbik)	21
Portugal	6 (PSD) 1 (CDS-PP)	8 (PS)		2 (MPT)	3 (PCP) 1 (BE)				21
Sweden	3 (M) 1 (KD)	5 (S) 1 (FI)		2 (FP) 1 (C)	1 (V)	4 (MP)	2 (SD)		20
Austria	5 (ÖVP)	5 (SPÖ)		1 (NEOS)		3 (Grüne)		4 (FPÖ)	18
Bulgaria	6 (GERB) 1 (DSB)	4 (BSP)	1 (BBTs) 1 (VMRO)	4 (DPS)					17
Finland	3 (Kok.)	2 (SDP)	2 (PS)	3 (Kesk.) 1 (RKP)	1 (Vas.)	1 (Vihr.)			13
Denmark	1 (K)	3 (S)	4 (DF)	2 (V) 1 (RV)	1 (N)	1 (SF)			13
Slovakia	2 (KDH) 2 (SDKÚ-DS) 1 (SMK) 1 (Most-Híd)	4 (Smer – SD)	1 (OĽaNO) 1 (Nova)	1 (SaS)					13
Croatia	4 (HDZ) 1 (HSS)	2 (SDP)	1 (HSP-AS)	1 (HNS) 1 (IDS)		1 (ORaH)			11
Ireland	4 (FG)	1 (Childers)	1 (FF/Crowley)	1 (Harkin)	3 (SF) 1 (Flanagan)				11
Lithuania	2 (TS-LKD)	2 (LSDP)	1 (LLRA)	2 (LRLS) 1 (DP)		1 (LVŽS)	2 (TT)		11
Latvia	4 (Vienotība)	1 (Saskaņa SDP)	1 (NA)			1 (LKS)	1 (LZS)		8
Slovenia	3 (SDS) 1 (NSi) 1 (SLS)	1 (SD)		1 (DeSUS)		1 (Verjamem)			8
Cyprus	2 (DISY)	1 (EDEK) 1 (DIKO)			2 (AKEL)				6
Estonia	1 (IRL)	1 (SDE)		2 (RE) 1 (KE)		1 (Tarand)			6
Luxembourg	3 (CSV)	1 (LSAP)		1 (DP)		1 (Gréng)			6
Malta	3 (PN)	3 (PL)							6
Total									MEPs
	EPP	S&D	ECR	ALDE	GUE/NGL	G-EFA	EFDD	NI
	221 (29%)	191 (25%)	70 (9%)	67 (9%)	52 (7%)	50 (7%)	48 (6%)	52 (7%)	751