(ANSA) - ROME, JUL 17 - Far-right remains splintered.
    In addition to the Hungarian Fidesz and the French RN, the PfE group also includes Italy's Lega, Spain's Vox, the Dutch Freedom Party (PVV), the Danish People's Party, the Portuguese Chega and the Belgian Vlaams Belang. It also includes other MEPs from the Czech Republic (Oath and Motorists), Latvia (Latvia First) and Greece (Voice of Reason), as well as a satellite party of the Hungarian Fidesz called KDNP.
    But in the EU legislature, the far-right remains fragmented - with far-right and Eurosceptic parties separating themselves between different groups.
    Previously, the biggest Eurosceptic faction was the ECR, dominated by the Brothers of Italy (FdI) party of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who has toned down her previous euroscepticism in power. The other was the Identity and Democracy (ID) group - which does not exist any longer - previously dominated by the French RN and which took a more anti-EU stance.
    In Belgium, for example, the far-right anti-immigration and nationalist party Vlaams Belang joined the PfE group. The party won the most votes in the European elections and secured three seats in the European Parliament.
    But Belgium also held federal elections simultaneously, in which the nationalist party New Flemish Alliance (N-VA) won the most votes. In the European Parliament, N-VA decided it would remain in the European ECR group.
    In Poland, the far-right Konfederacja alliance split in two: three of the country's six elected MEPs have joined the ESN group, while two others are negotiating to join Viktor Orbán's Patriots.
    Slovenia and Slovakia enter fifth legislative cycle.
    In Slovenia and Slovakia, MEPs appear to remain most numerous in the parties of the centrist coalition.
    During the new term of the Parliament, Slovenia will have nine MEPs: five for the EPP, one for the S&D, two for Renew and one for the Greens. For the first time since 2004 when Slovenia joined the EU, a Slovenian MEP will be one of the vice-chairs of the EPP Group. Another Slovenian MEP will be vice-chair of the Renew group.
    Slovakia, however, will have the weakest representation in the EPP group since its accession to the EU in 2004. Out of 15 MEPs, only one will be in the EPP, six will join the Renew group, one will join the new ESN group and the remaining seven will be non-attached.
    In the previous four cycles of Slovakia's presence in the European Parliament, Slovaks had been the most numerous in the EPP fraction. In the first cycle from 2004 to 2009 Slovakia had eight MEPs out of 14 in the EPP. In the previous cycle from 2019 to 2024 there were first five, then four out of 14.
    What's next for the new European Parliament?.
    As war rages on Europe's doorstep, the bloc faces multiple challenges including a stagnant economy and growing global uncertainty, which EU leaders and MEPs alike will have to confront head-on after their election.
    But all eyes will be on Thursday's vote when lawmakers decide whether to give Ursula von der Leyen another five years as Commission chief, seen as the most powerful role in the EU.
    Since EU leaders struck a hard-fought deal on her candidacy in late June, von der Leyen has been scrambling to win over lawmakers in the main political groups.
    To secure the mandate, the German conservative needs at least 361 votes in the 720-seat chamber. It could be a tight race - in 2019, she secured the post by only nine votes.
    (The content is based on news by agencies participating in the enr, in this case AFP, ANSA, APA, Belga, CTK, dpa, EFE, Lusa, PAP, STA, Tanjug, TASR). (ANSA).