This year’s European Elections, scheduled to be held on 6th to 9th June, will be the 10th direct elections to the European Parliament.

Previously the European Parliament comprised members who were appointed by their own member state governments.

This year’s elections will also be the first since Brexit.

One of the changes we may see in the new assembly, in the context of a general trend towards the right, is coming together of the two centre-right political groups, the European Peoples’ Party (EPP) and the European Conservatives & Reformists (ECR).

Traditionally, the EPP – the largest group in the Parliament, has shared power with the leftist Socialists & Democrats, and Renew Europe, the successor to the Liberal Democrats.

An alliance between the EPP and ECR groups, however, could change the face of European politics for the next five years.

This week I interviewed Michiel Hoogeveen, a Dutch politician from the conservative JA21 party, and a member of the ECR group.

He is also vice-Chair of the Parliament’s Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs.

We discussed his very interesting ideas on the much needed re-industrialisation of Europe, and he shared his predictions on what the next Parliament will look like.

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