As far-right, nationalist and eurosceptic parties gain ground among European voters, elections on the European Union's eastern flank are giving pro-EU forces cause for hope amid ongoing geopolitical challenges.

The European Union reacted with relief this week in the wake of two crucial presidential elections on its eastern flank - Poland and Romania - characterised by a fierce clash between pro-EU and eurosceptic candidates.

The elections in both EU member states came at a fraught moment for Europe as Russia's invasion of Ukraine drags on, ties with the US administration are under strain and far-right populists make electoral gains.

'If you look at countries nearby - Germany, France, Britain - the far-right is gaining ground everywhere, benefitting from social issues,' 24-year-old Polish student Kacper Karwacki told AFP while voting in Poland.

European capitals have been nervously watching the rise of the far right in the last few years. In Paris, for example, French President Emmanuel Macron has vowed to block 'extremists' from coming to power - his main rival being Marine Le Pen's National Rally, which is now the largest single party in the French parliament.

In March, Le Pen was convicted in court for misusing EU funds for fake European Parliament assistant jobs, and was barred from running in the 2027 French presidential elections. Le Pen has denied any wrongdoing and is appealing the decision.

In Germany, the bloc's largest economy, the conservative Christian Democrats led by Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) emerged victorious in February. While the CDU has formed a government with its Bavarian sister party CSU and former chancellor Olaf Schulz's Social Democrats (SPD), the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) finished second at the polls and is now the second-largest group in the German parliament.

Votes have also been increasingly targeted by Russian interference designed to derail the elections or favour eurosceptic pro-Kremlin candidates.

The recent elections for Warsaw and Bucharest however suggest continued support for pro-EU parties, despite significant gains for nationalist parties across the continent.

Romania: centrist win thwarts nationalist rise

Romania's newly elected president Nicusor Dan is facing an uphill task to bring together a deeply divided country after a tense rerun vote, with Brussels and other European allies welcoming the victory of the centrist.

In the run-off presidential election, independent candidate Dan defeated right-wing nationalist George Simion, leader of the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR). Dan secured 53.6 percent of the vote, while Simion garnered 46.4 percent.

The presidential election was a re-run of last November's vote, when pro-Russian candidate Calin Georgescu won the first round, having campaigned largely on the online platform TikTok.

However, shortly before the scheduled run-off vote, the Constitutional Court annulled the first round due to irregularities amid claims of Russian interference, and banned Georgescu from running again.

The elections were seen as defining for Romania's future - whether to maintain its westward path or a turn towards sovereignism and a rise of Trump-style nationalism. In Romania, the president represents the country at EU and NATO summits and also appoints key posts, including the prime minister.

Dan's victory was welcomed by Romania's European allies, with EU chief Ursula von der Leyen, NATO chief Mark Rutte, French President Macron and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy among those who congratulated him.

Romanians are struggling with high inflation in their - the EU's most indebted - country, and voter frustrations ran high with the same class of politicians ruling Romania since the end of Communism in 1989.

Romania also sits on huge gas reserves that could make the country the biggest producer of gas in Europe, which has sought to reduce its reliance on Russian energy. The gas is expected to start flowing in 2027.

In neighbouring Moldova, pro-EU President Maia Sandu urged Moldovans with Romanian citizenship - which, according to 2021 figures, amounts to about a quarter of the country's population - to vote for Dan, who won nearly 88 percent of the Romanian vote in Moldova.

Poland: Warsaw set for high-stakes run-off

While the pro-EU camp was also slightly ahead in Poland's first round of presidential election, the far-right performed strongly with its two candidates - Eurosceptic multi-millionaire entrepreneur Slawomir Mentzen and ultra-nationalist MEP Grzegorz Braun - gaining significant support.

So far, the electoral campaign largely revolved around foreign policy, showcasing a clash of philosophies over Poland's engagement with the EU and the United States.

Last Sunday, pro-EU Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski - representing Prime Minister Donald Tusk's centrist Civic Coalition (KO) - won the vote with a 31.36 percent share.

Trzaskowski is an avowed Europhile and even wrote his PhD thesis on EU reform. He pledged to relax abortion laws and protect LGBTQ rights. He also worked on Poland's accession to the EU and later became an adviser to the KO delegation in the European Parliament and was elected vice president of the European People's Party (EPP) in 2017.

Karol Nawrocki, a 42-year-old historian and political outsider running as an independent with backing from the right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) party, received 29.54 percent.

Nawrocki's campaign slogan is 'Poland first, Poles first', reflecting his views on the nearly one million Ukrainian refugees living in the EU and NATO country. While Nawrocki has pledged to continue Poland's support for neighbouring Ukraine against Russia's invasion, he has denounced the benefits given to the refugees.

The former ruling party PiS was frequently at odds with Poland's Western allies and EU institutions in Brussels over rule-of-law concerns.

Far-right candidate Mentzen (Konfederacja) finished third with 14.8 percent. Braun, representing the more radical wing of the party, received around 6 percent of the votes.

Voters in Poland will now head to a run-off election between Trzaskowski and Nawrocki on June 1.

An overall victory for Trzaskowski would be a boost for the centrist government led by former European Council President Donald Tusk, which has been at loggerheads with the current nationalist president Andrzej Duda.

A Nawrocki win would probably extend the political deadlock in the Central European country of 38 million people.

Poland's president is commander-in-chief of the armed forces, steers foreign policy and can introduce and veto legislation.

The content of this article is based on reporting by AFP, Agerpres, ANSA, dpa, PAP, as part of the European Newsroom (enr) project. AGERPRES (editing by: Simona Klodnischi)