Ursula von der Leyen, seeking a second term as European Commission president, has claimed victory in the European Parliament elections.
"Today is a good day for the EPP," von der Leyen said, referring to her centre-right European People's Party (EPP) group, which she campaigned for.
"We have won the European elections, my friends," she said as estimated polls showed strong results for the EPP despite a challenge from far-right parties.
Von der Leyen stressed that, together with other parties, she wanted to form “a bulwark against the extremes from the left and the right.”
“We will stop them,” von der Leyen said.
According to a forecast by the European Parliament, the EPP, counting Germany's centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its sister party the Christian Social Union (CSU) as members, will be able to fill 186 and thus a quarter of the 720 seats in the European Parliament.
