The latest results from elections to the European Union parliament show gains for opposition parties across Europe. Groups which are sceptical about greater integration have recorded their best results. This report from Chris Morris:

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In Germany in particular the scale of the defeat for the governing Social Democrats was pretty staggering. While the number of people staying away from the polls in new member states like Poland and Slovakia was a source of deep disappointment for officials in Brussels. Euro-sceptic parties gained ground in Britain, Sweden, the Czech Republic and elsewhere.

But overall, the new parliament will not be too dissimilar from the old. Most MEPs will be pro-European, with the centre-right parties forming the biggest group, followed by the socialists.

The parliament meets for the first time next month but attention in the EU is already switching to the debate on the proposed European constitution. EU foreign ministers are meeting in Luxembourg today to discuss new compromise proposals in advance of a European summit in Brussels later this week.

Chris Morris, BBC News, Brussels

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a damning indictment
if something is a damning indictment of something else, it shows how bad it is

didn't bother
didn’t do it (because it was too much effort or because it was pointless)

scale
size

staggering
incredible, amazing

staying away from the polls
not voting

a source of deep disappointment
very disappointing

gained ground
performed well; here, got lots of votes

overall
generally, with everything considered

dissimilar
different

switching to
turning its attention (from one thing to another)

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