Brussels, 11/04/2014 (Agence Europe) - The latest projections on seat numbers in the European Parliament - projections published by the European Parliament on the basis of national estimates - once again give the EPP a slight lead over the S&D, with the EPP garnering 214 seats compared with the S&D's 208. The Liberals are forecast to win 60 seats, followed by the European Left with 51 seats - which takes its place as the group in fourth position pushing out the Greens/EFA, which could obtain 44. The Conservatives in the ECR are projected to take 41 seats, the EFD 29, the non-attached 38, and the others 66. These projections were made on 3 April and were published on the European Parliament's website on Thursday 10 April.
In theory, if the Council and the European Parliament play the game, the person at the top of the list of the party that comes first in the elections should be in a strong position to become the future president of the European Commission. In this scenario, this person would therefore be Jean-Claude Juncker for the EPP, with the EPP, S&D and ALDE groups being in agreement on this scenario. The Parliament will officially stop its work on 17 April for the electoral campaign and will resume its activities at the beginning of July. (SP)