The European Parliament election made Eurosceptics big winners. The never relenting obsession to make Ukraine break up with Russia has started to undermine the fragile basis of European security allowing nationalists and isolationists make significant gains. The Petro Poroshenko’s victory in Ukraine with ultra right and nationalists gaining more seats in parliament changes the correlation of forces inside the European Union and affects the EU-Kiev-Moscow relationship. Ukraine became consolidated around an oligarch while the European parliament has internal divisions exacerbated. 

«European politics will be different from today on», said Doru Frantescu, policy director and co-founder of VoteWatch Europe, an independent Brussels-based organization that tracked opinion polls in the run-up to the elections… In a statement on May 26, Jose Manuel Barroso, the head of EU's executive arm, said, «This is the moment to come together and to define the union's way forward». As the outgoing President of European Commission noted, «The concerns of those who voted in protest or did not vote are best addressed through decisive political action for growth and jobs, and through a truly democratic debate». Socialist Prime Minister Manual Valls went on television to say the verdict of voters showed it was important for his government to push through the spending cuts and tax cuts it has been promising. «There is not a single minute to lose», Valls said. «I owe you the truth», he told the French. «We need to show courage because France must reform. For too long, left and right together, we have avoided deeply addressing things». According to him, the success of the far right, including the French National Front, was a «political earthquake». 

What’s in store for Brussels bureaucracy and the European Commission with the new balance of forces in the European Parliament? Eurosceptics and far right may have a decisive swing now. The French National Front (25%) and United Kingdom Independence Party (28%) achieved unprecedented success. For the first time in their history the both parties left others behind in the national vote. Eurosceptics gained in many other countries as well. 

In Germany Eurosceptic Alternative for Germany scored strong 7%, a big gain since the national 2013 election. In Italy ex-comic Beppe Grillo's anti-establishment Five Star was second with 21%. The Austrian nationalist Freedom Party was third with sweeping 19, 5% to double the number of seats in the European Parliament it had before. Greece's radical left coalition known as Syriza left the conservative New Democracy Party and PASOK behind leading with 26 percent of the vote. The extreme right Golden Dawn party got 9 percent. It makes every third Greek voter be in strong opposition to the traditional political alliances. 

The European Parliament election is the first step on the way of redrawing the EU political landscape. With Portuguese Barroso leaving after two tenures as President of the European Commission since his appointment in 2004, there is a fierce battle ahead. The present balance of forces in the European Parliament allows the European People’s Party and Socialists block each other’s nominations to weaken the chances of two leading hopefuls – former Prime Minister of Luxemburg and former President of Eurogroup Jean-Claude Juncker and Martin Shultz, a German Social-Democrat who has been President of European Parliament. In case the race goes into a deadlock, then the third candidate will step in. That’s where Berlin may pull its clout to push through the desired candidate. Since a long time Germany wanted the European Commission, the executive body responsible for tackling financial issues, to be under its control. There are collision occurrences inside the European Union. The bickering between Germany and the European Central Bank is an example. A German national heading the European Commission could balance the correlation of forces into Germany’s favor. 

The European Parliament election has always been a yardstick to measure public sentiments in this or that European country. The French National Front getting 25% in national France’s national vote or the UKIP receiving a third of votes in the British national election will dramatically affect the process of European integration. According to Geert Wilders, the head of Dutch Freedom Party, British Prime Minister David Cameron will have to change his policies in case the UKIP gets every third vote in the United Kingdom’s national election. 

With far right support on the rise, could the European Union successfully handle such issues as the situation in Ukraine, the restoration of partnership with Russia and implementation of meaningful Balkans policy? Hardly so. Anyway, the Fitch agency’s poll shows that 80% of world experts believe the Ukrainian crisis is too risky for European markets for at least the nearest year. Europe faces decisive political battles to be waged soon.