Statement by Iskra MIHAYLOVA (Renew, BG), Renew Europe Vice-President and Q&A. On Sunday 9th June 2024, the hemicycle of the European Parliament in Brussels transforms into a press room on the occasion of the election night. Over several hours, journalists from all over Europe follow the results thanks to national estimates and exit polling data. From 6 to 9 June 2024, around 360 million Europeans are called to the polls to elect the 720 members of the next European Parliament. The constitutive session of the newly elected Parliament will take place in July, in Strasbourg. This transcription is a result of an automatic process. Please check against delivery.

Brussels

statement

MIHAYLOVA, Iskra (Renew, BG)

Renew Europe

2024 European elections (T)

European Elections Night 2024 - Statement by Iskra MIHAYLOVA (Renew, BG), Renew Europe Vice-President and Q&A

SOUNDBITE (Original), Neil CORLETT, Head of the Press Unit at DG COMM of the EP, Ladies and Gentlemen Now I turn to Mrs. Mikhail over the vice president of the renew Group.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Iskra MIHAYLOVA (Renew, BG), MEP 8 - 9th parliamentary terms, Good evening everybody. Thank you for the opportunity to be together with you tonight. First of all, I would like, on behalf of the Renew group in the European Parliament, to thank the European citizens for their activity and support for the European Parliament. All their votes are very important for us. I would like to thank also the parties from Renew Family, who created a great campaign and who delivered very important messages to the European citizens. And I would like to thank our voters because with their support, Renew Europe is again the third political group in the European Parliament, third as a size but also very important group in decision making for the future European policy.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Iskra MIHAYLOVA (Renew, BG), MEP 8 - 9th parliamentary terms, The results from today's elections, the results from tonight show that no pro-European majority will be possible in this House without Renew group. We will be in the centre of this majority. We will deliver our solutions, our program and our expertise to the future work of the European Parliament.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Iskra MIHAYLOVA (Renew, BG), MEP 8 - 9th parliamentary terms, Despite of the increase of the far right political powers, we are the third group and we still keep our values and we insist that the European Parliament will continue working for the democracy in the United Europe, for the security of the European citizens, for the competitiveness of European industry, and for the rule of law which is in the heart of the Renew Europe group policy.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Iskra MIHAYLOVA (Renew, BG), MEP 8 - 9th parliamentary terms, And also, I would like to say that it is incredibly important to find the solutions to answer to the European citizens, because their expectations gave us very much, and they got gave us the direction of development of our work for the next five years. Thank you.

Q&A, As you said, you could potentially be the third force in the European Parliament after the final result. What will your exact terms for backing Ursula von der Leyen for a third term be?

SOUNDBITE (Original), Iskra MIHAYLOVA (Renew, BG), MEP 8 - 9th parliamentary terms, What I can say is that tonight we celebrate and we appreciate the result of competitiveness of values. We do not speak about personalities. It is too early to talk about this. In a very close future, in the second part of June, when our group will be constituated, the group will decide how to manage and how to work together with the pro-European majority.

Q&A, How does President Macron's poor showing, affect renew Europe's agenda going forward? And in general, your losses, how is it going to affect Renew Europe's,portfolio in the next commission? Thank you.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Iskra MIHAYLOVA (Renew, BG), MEP 8 - 9th parliamentary terms, Thank you very much for the question. It is between us. But first of all, I have to say the decision of the President of France is not under discussion in the Renew group. This is the internal national decision of the President of France. And secondly, I have to say that we congratulate our colleagues from Renaissance and from the liberal parties from France, which are the second parties after the elections. And also, I have to mention that we have increase of the support for the Renew Group in the different member states. For example, in Slovakia we are the first political power, so the diversity in Europe is the diversity of Europe. The national decisions are national decisions. But the success of Renew group is a success of Renew group.