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Elections to the European Parliament first took place in June 1979 and have been held every five years since then. While the center-right and right-wing parties made up the largest bloc in the parliament for its first two sessions, the center-left and left-wing parties became the biggest group after the 1989 and 1994 elections, with 1989 being the only election when one of the ideological groups held a majority of seats in the parliament until 2024. After the most recent elections, center-right and right-wing parties obtained the absolute majority of the seats in the European house. Since 1989 the left-wing groups in parliament have taken a consistently declining share of seats in the parliament, with 2014 being the only exception. 

The right's share of seats has remained relatively consistent since 1999, while the centrist Renew Europe group (formerly called ALDE) have experienced an upswing over the past 25 years, achieving their best result ever in 2019, with percent of the seats. Independents and non-aligned parties have also taken up an increasing share of the seats in the parliament in recent years. These ideological groups should not, however, be mistaken for likely coalition partners, as the center-right and center-left groups in the European Parliament usually work with each other to divide up the EU's top jobs, rather than working with other parties on their respective sides of the political spectrum.