The monopoly of power has been broken. Europe has found itself at a crossroads as the far right and Greens make substantial gains in European elections, writes Lorne Cook.

So that’s Friday nearly wrapped up. Here’s some of the stories we published on irishexaminer.com today which we hope will help you make sense of it all this evening.

Sterling steadied after initially posting further large losses on UK political fears but shares in Europe and the US were hit as the fallout of the US-China trade war extended to Chinese champion Huawei and the world’s chip makers for mobile phones.

Tens of thousands of demonstrators opposed to right-wing populism and nationalism took to the streets in different European cities today, ahead of the European Parliament elections.

High Court proceedings brought against RTÉ by an independent candidate in this month's European Parliament Elections have been withdrawn.

Two candidates in this month's European Parliament elections are seeking High Court orders allowing them to participate in an RTE television live debate.

Sterling and shares brushed aside the UK local election results as investors focused on the potential fallout from the European Parliament elections later this month.

Fundamentalists hostile to Europe’s values are covertly backing right-wing elements across the bloc, says Mary Fitzgerald

So that’s Monday nearly wrapped up. Here’s some of the stories we published on irishexaminer.com today which we hope will help you make sense of it all this evening.

The latest figures to confirm they will seek an MEP seat were Independents Mick Wallace and Clare Daly, who will run in Ireland South and Dublin.

Facebook is to introduce rules to protect the integrity of the European Parliament elections in May.

These will include a requirement that advertisers provide proof that they live in the country where their ads will be targeting users of the social media network.

Brexit poses an “existential” threat to the security of Ireland and the peace process, a leading Irish academic has warned.

Brexit poses an “existential” threat to the security of Ireland and the peace process, a leading Irish academic has warned.

Joe Leogue Both Fine Gael and Labour selected candidates for the European Parliament elections in the Ireland South constituency yesterday.

The Labour Party has selected former Minister Alex White to contest the Dublin constituency in this May's European Parliament elections.

A farmer who started the campaign to have farmers compensated for loss of income due to a ban on agricultural activity in hen harrier conservation areas has declared his interest in running as a Fianna Fáil candidate in the next European Parliament elections.

Yesterday’s deadly attack on the offices of a Paris magazine exposes not just the horrors of extreme religious fundamentalism but the paucity of moderate Islamic voices.

For the first time ever, EU leaders have held a vote when nominating the next president of the European Commission, forced by Britain’s David Cameron to break a long tradition of consensus, supported by Hungary’s premier Viktor Orban.

British PM David Cameron will get backing from his Swedish counterpart, Fredrik Reinfeldt, today as he urges German Chancellor Angela Merkel to drop her support for Jean-Claude Juncker as the next head of the European Commission.

Spain’s King Juan Carlos has announced he will abdicate in favour of his more popular son so that fresh royal blood can rally the nation.

A taste of some of the interesting, important and quirky happenings in Europe from our Europe Correspondent, Ann Cahill.

Fine Gael’s policy of continuing austerity is expected to get a boost from Brussels today when recommendations on member states’ budgets for next year are rolled out.

A man has been arrested in south-east France over the shooting at a Jewish museum in Brussels that left at least three people dead, the Paris prosecutor’s office said today.

France’s Socialist government will not resign and will press forward with tax cuts and other reforms despite a record victory for the French far right in European parliament elections, the prime minister said today.

Far-right and Eurosceptic parties have made sweeping gains in European Parliament elections, triggering what one prime minister called a political "earthquake" by those seeking to slash the EU's powers or abolish it altogether.

Exit polls showed the far right and Eurosceptics making sweeping gains in European Parliament elections, signalling a major political shift toward parties that want to slash the European Union’s powers or abolish it altogether.

Belgium officers have launched a nationwide manhunt for a lone suspect in a shooting spree at the Brussels Jewish Museum as the toll in the attack rose to four dead.

Police have detained a suspect and are hunting for another after three people were shot dead and a fourth seriously wounded in an armed attack at the Jewish Museum in Brussels.

The change in how the top jobs in the EU are allocated, coupled with the rise of anti-austerity parties, could produce a very different parliament, writes Europe Correspondent Ann Cahill.

As the wealth gap globally widens, a political backlash has begun among an increasingly militant public, writes Kyran Fitzgerald.

Finance Minister Michael Noonan warned against the dangers of reform fatigue but said the eurozone must plough ahead with fiscal consolidation and measures to improve competitiveness.

European Parliament elections highlight how change, like labour reform, is so difficult to effect, writes Jean Pisani-Ferry.

Violent attacks against Jews worldwide dropped in 2013, but anti-Semitism is becoming more widespread in Europe amid a rise in popularity of extremist parties, according to a report released yesterday.

The founder of the anti- austerity “Ballyhea Says No” weekly marches has announced he will run as an Ireland South candidate in the upcoming European Parliament elections.

Socialist MEP Paul Murphy spoke forcefully in the European Parliament during the week against homophobic attitudes in Ireland.

A high ranking EU official declared that the situation in Ukraine is worse than that in Belarus — and was quickly asked to explain.

The ECB could be forced to introduce another long- term refinancing operation and drag the deposit rate into a negative territory to cushion the region from another year of sluggish growth and the uncertainty caused by the comprehensive assessment of the banks, according to the Bank of America Merrill Lynch 2014 economic outlook.

European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso declared yesterday that economic recovery was within sight after nearly four years of Europe’s debt crisis and urged governments to move faster to complete a stalled banking union.

Fine Gael MEP, Sean Kelly, is recommending that the Dublin constituency for the European Parliament elections should be expanded to a five-seater.

A blueprint for a federal Europe will be produced by the European Commission later this year in a major step forward for further integration.

WHEN the late Dr John O’Connell TD contested the first European Parliament elections — against the wishes of his party, Labour — it was the first political campaign I ever experienced.

Fianna Fáil MEP Brian Crowley has publicly criticised the party’s decision not to run him as its candidate in the presidential election — saying he could have got votes from across party lines.