over the past weeks and months actually both the national and european poles so i would say what happened is state they fell back on their core electorate and this is what this result shows but still the core electorate is around seventeen percent that is the case yes at least that's how it seems all right so they did lose but it's not as visible because everything was polling beforehand let's talk about the german greens now exit polls twenty two percent right that this right that is how we have them for the time being this is a very very good result for the greens again not necessarily unexpected we saw quite a lot of that coming up over the past months in our polling but it confirms the trend the greens are going through for the time being because it is that something all the other greens in the european union in other countries can be happy about said look we're going to be just as good as the german griese. well the greens themselves are talking about the green wave they're expecting for tonight we see from preliminary results and exit polls in island for example or in the netherlands

but also where they came up and in germany that indeed seems to be a movement that is strengthening the green so role is there anything other in the numbers you already have that you can already talk about that strikes you strikes me overall seems to be a very positive trend for turnout generally it seems that this time much. two thousand and fourteen went to the polls so i think we might be looking at the very very good turnout result tonight compared to five years ago so is this really a turning point in the history of the european elections. it is a turning point that's for sure if we are going to see at the end of this evening an increased turnout than it would be actually for the first time ever since one thousand nine hundred seventy nine of the first european elections an increase in turnout compared to the last time so yes i would talk about a turning point and do you have a feeling that people. in the european union this election seriously i do think so

yes over the past months and weeks during the campaign in nearly all the member states that topics were debated questions about the future of europe the direction we should be taking which way should we go so i do think there was more debate there was more engagement. with. the european parliament we hope to talk to you later. do you feel. now one of big concerns in the run up to these european elections has been security acas have successfully breached european institutions in the past and this sprawling europe wide vote a tempting target. it's being called europe's most election and european leaders are worried that the e.u. parliamentary vote is at risk they say a foreign nation could spread mistrust in the results or even hack the election system altogether. we have european elections coming up. now i don't want to

conjure up or predict anything but we have to be ready to stop interfering in sydney's elections. to for you. so why are they so worried about this election is a big target. first citizens in twenty eight different countries are taking part. that means twenty eight different ways of counting and tracking ballots dozens of different systems and vote tally machines and there's been no e.u. wide check on any of these. wants voting takes place across the board day. that means there's more time than usual for a hacker to potentially do damage. and it's being called the most important vote in decades. with the direction of the union potentially at stake foreign nations will be tempted to tip the scales likely towards parties that hope to weaken the e.u. . we should take the threat seriously because in the end it is about democracy

and securing our democracy against those who have a huge interest in destabilizing and that we're not trusting our institutions hackers have targeted european governments before election web sites in bulgaria poland spain and other countries have all been attacked in the last few years. earlier this year a twenty year old german managed to hack and release the personal information of nearly one thousand german politicians and if he can do it why couldn't russia. well back in two thousand and fifteen russian hackers spent. inside the german parliament's computer network and the cyber security company fire i recently discovered russian hacking in terms of european election monitoring systems. but you don't even need to have to potentially affect its results this information

is also a threat in twenty six team a russian campaign on social media might have helped swing the us presidential election in favor of donald trump some e.u. member states are starting to fight back with efforts to safeguard their vote. so i think sweden was a good example. prior to the election quite example is first true i'm not a. technical and then also you know maybe within the public and they've also created measures informing the public proactively on what technologies i used you know you should be aware that there might be. actors that want to influence you information and put out the need for that and i think that's a really good proactive strategy on informing every single citizen and the e.u. recently doubled its budget for fighting this information and set up

a new system for sharing threats in real time between member states. the question is is that enough because in this election if the results in just one country are affected back to cast doubt on the entire outcome. forcing are you what you did every news with special coverage of the e.u. parliament elections we're also expecting to have a shortly from the very transformer. is one of the leading contenders for the job next to european commission president and when he speaks we'll bring those comments to you live. we're joined by melinda crate of loose that. chief political correspondent on the material gov roll you of oxford university welcome back both almost issue of security must tell you do you see the threat as being a significant one the the idea that these elections might be in some way hot day

reason significant threat we are more prepared than we used to be for sure i think that what we saw we brecht's it and with united states elections we don't crumple and so on in twenty sixteen there was a wake up call for european governments we prefer behind the scenes in very calm and discreet ways but when you talk to people in the know when in the business for instance let's put it perry's make sure to let it be know in moscow that we're not just working in terms of defining ourselves but to be ready to counter attack if necessary. germany milena claim germany has already suffered the sorts of breaches indeed there were attacks attributed to russian hackers some three years ago in connection with the run up to german elections and we saw a major cyber attack on the german bundestag actually at the beginning of this year however in that case not attributed to russian sensually attempts to

just so dissension and division because that is the objective of much of the russian hacking but in fact. at the time those investigating that particular attack in the winter said it looked like it was coming from something related to the game or are you too obscene interestingly enough all parties in the bluntest talk were affected except for the right wing. but i think what's important to note here is that a lot of the hacking that has occurred and that has been a subject of concern is very much related to attempts to essentially stir up divisions that are already. there russia you can almost think of these attack hacking attacks as a form of a parasite and when the political body is ill the parasite does a lot more damage i was told by people in brussels some months ago that they were removing thousands and thousands of fake websites from the web essentially every

single week and many of those did have their origin stay in russia ok so did you did do you see basis as a being the the blocks achilles heel would tell you. no not anymore as i said i think we're better prepared than in the past and also in certain sent to defeat into a broader picture what we have it's at the very least an informal relationship that has been established between russia and certain selected political parties in western europe there being debates and talk although nothing has been proven in terms of financial support coming from russia for independent france as well as for much else slovenia enabling we also know that there's always been a very cozy unfriended a relationship between the. right wing party and just left open you know stress and the russians so it feeds within

a broader picture ok so let's not let's go back to the results that we have at the moment is of the exit poll results these these are not votes counted these are exit poll results of the of the polls here in germany have closed so we have the c.d.u. c.s.u. taking a twenty eight percent that down s.p.d. eleven of the hoth a sense there also down green party having a good day according to beas at the polls an increase of more than eleven percentage points for them up to twenty two percent in the f.t. which where we've all been keeping an eye on looking at about ten and a half percent material what are you seeing in that. not surprise and at least actually feel this is germany and the results on the european little difference just as you thought to speak of so it was meant for viber the man has no matters let's hear what. is saying now. if you want it come come our. see is ruined patterson is the president. went to. the top

trying to get out the door he pointed it out. this kind of car is going to take the lead of only one for america's. friends. here he is ladies and gentlemen he said you know the only one instance the city you and the union in such. set out with a very clear goal. during these elections our goal was to become the strongest party amid this reaction to european parliament in germany and to make it clear to us that we need to get the part of the parties in europe. the u.p.a. that we are going to give them back when to money to make it very clear that he is our top candidate he is our man patient outcomes the president of the european commission is the scene. we have reached this goal today and yet here it is and we

want to thank you very much for your strong commitment. when it is not done. and it not only want to thank one for it. i also want to thank. each of those who helped drive forward to the election campaign. helped and supported us during the european this election but also on the regional and local level having forward our political goals up to the last minute and i think that shows that we are in. he liked working like a family in this party. here in france and i was that from the very beginning on so

we kept on saying that we can make this a poll turns a month rate we have as a top candidate here is our top candidate and if it yet the results will be confirmed in the sense that the p.p. is going to become the strongest family of parties in europe. what this underpins very clearly is our expiration four months to take up the lead of the european commission in the future. we will finally find friends now in the next this is what it will be all about in the years start here in the weeks to come days to come in brussels because next when in the course we'll set is to determine how european interests will be defended and asserted in the future time and this goes be long range beyond the

question of which party you're affiliated to our plans will be determined how german interests will be defended in the future when the c.d.u. being the these party in government will support the federal government in was going to strengthen munfordville. ours and to defend our interests and ours in brussels from the basis of having gained a very strong position during these european elections. i didn't find and that's my friends or second goal during this election is it was very clear to us and this goal was that after seventy three years here and ask you to government in brain minutes it was time for a change does he need. should become the strongest party in britain enjoying the regional election there and we're very happy. times that our friends our top

candidate cause my head a managed to. make the c.d.u. become the strongest party in brim and doing the first step for such a change in government in britain thank you and that's mr sandison stardom there's something more to say tonight how this election result and this election success in britain and the same time this was its success constantly passed away. recently and we fought for him into it and it's a very special moment for all of us here at the parties had want to. thank. us this mission's lessons these miss guns

to be very very high here i did after those here are happy that have managed to achieve our goals but still we also need to stage tonight that this election result it is just him in he does not live up to her own as ration as being hard enough and in being supported by so many citizens that we're going to analyze the results carefully and the future and that's it in the days to come but we're already able to say that his various reasons in fact that have led to this result in their vehicles are particularly the fact that we haven't developed the man in term in our government we haven't given the kind of paddling that citizens in german. i have expected from a distance. but there is another factor we have not managed and the novelist it.

is on the important european topics at about us to focus on the question if how we safeguard our security in germany theirs and europe and how we can support prosperity in an open internal market through free trade if through it is either being innovative the question the how of this we can. add violence or peace project of europe through policies all of these questions haven't played the important roles they deserve to play in this election campaign we focused on climate and climate protection we also focus on the question how. from the analogous world could still work in the digital world and these were two topics where we have been given the onset is. that so.