European Parliament Election Night Preliminary Results in Brussels

The European Parliament releases projections of election results. These will be based on various sources. Most will be based on national exit polls, while some will be based on sample vote counts, and in some cases on pre-election surveys in individual EU countries. They will be aggregated by Kantar Public for the European Parliament. 400 million people and 28 countries in the EU have the option to vote in the world's second-largest election after India.

When Europeans head to the polls, the outcome will determine who steers the continent in the years to come and may throw some countries’ governments into disarray.

While the ballot has been cast as a showdown between populist firebrands and the establishment over control of the European Union’s political and economic direction, it’s also a series of national and regional battles. The vote -- which involves the awkward participation of want-away Britain -- will say as much about local realities as it does about the big debate over the bloc’s future.

With dozens of reporters and editors across the EU, Bloomberg will be live-blogging the vote, covering every angle of the election outcomes and the immediate fallout. As we await results on Sunday evening, here’s a handy guide to the key battlegrounds across the 28 member states.

Angela Merkel is facing a battle to serve out her fourth and final term. Her chosen successor Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer has pressured the chancellor to consider making way if her Christian Democrats lose more support in the European vote. The bigger risk may come from the Social Democrats. A poor result could push Merkel’s reluctant coalition partner to bring down the government, especially if the party loses control in the city-state of Bremen — a traditional SPD stronghold — where voters are also selecting a new administration.

French President Emmanuel Macron faces a tight race with nationalist Marine Le Pen in a rematch of the 2017 presidential race. If he loses, it could undermine his grand plans for tighter EU integration. More than six months of Yellow Vest protests have pushed Macron to backtrack on key reforms and offer tax cuts and subsidies in an effort to appease protesters. A bad result tonight may further push him toward even more expensive concessions.

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