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    What the EU elections mean for global development

    Political earthquake or tempest in a teapot? Anxiety is building within the global aid community about a potential fallout from last week's EU elections, which returned plenty of euroskeptics to parliament. But the regional bloc's relations with the global south will remain a priority, writes Devex's Richard Jones.

    By Richard Jones // 29 May 2014

    Although summer may (belatedly) have arrived in Brussels, Shakespeare’s “Now is the winter of our discontent” may be a more appropriate apothegm — at least for Europe’s voters, if the results of last week’s European parliamentary elections are anything to go by.

    In what was the second biggest democratic exercise on the planet — some  400 million people were eligible to cast their vote for a new European Parliament — the estimated 43.1 percent of eligible European voters that went to the polls across the European Union have returned a very different set of representatives to the bloc’s parliament.

    From the perspective of Europe’s mainstream parties, at least, things did not go quite according to plan. Indeed, although mainstream politics still predominate, there were significant gains for euroskeptic and populist parties across the political spectrum in many of Europe’s 28 member states, with notable success for France’s far-right Front National and the United Kingdom’s UKIP.

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    The views in this opinion piece do not necessarily reflect Devex's editorial views.

    About the author

    • Richard Jones

      Richard Jones@richard_devex

      In his role as Editorial Director Richard oversees content for digital series, reports and events, leading a talented team of writers and editors, conducting high-level video interviews and moderating panels at events. Previously partnerships editor and an associate editor at Devex, Richard brings to bear 15 years of experience as an editor in institutional communications, public affairs and international development. Based in Barcelona, his development experience includes stints in the Dominican Republic, Argentina and Ecuador, as well as extensive work travel in Africa and Asia.

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