In the election of 2019, the turnout was 51 %. This marked the first increase in election participation since the very first EU elections of 1979 and represented the largest-ever transnational election. David Sassoli became president of the European Parliament, followed in January 2022 by Roberta Metsola, Parliament’s youngest ever president.
Most European political parties again appointed lead candidates for the Presidency of the European Commission ahead of the 2019 European elections. The European Council later proposed Ursula von der Leyen, who had not been a lead candidate, to the European Parliament as candidate for President of the European Commission. She was then elected by the European Parliament, as part of its scrutiny powers.
Climate protection issues featured prominently in the 2019 election, as globally the environment continues to give alarming signs of rapid deterioration. During the following term, MEPs had to face the actual departure of the United Kingdom. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic broke out. The European institutions decided to summon a Conference on the Future of Europe to look ahead, starting in 2021. In 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine.
