Europeans may be about to elect their most right-wing parliament in history

Europeans head to the polls this week in closely watched elections that threaten to shake the bloc's traditionally mainstream political landscape.

From June 6 to 9, around 400 million people across the EU's 27 member states will be eligible to vote for the next 720 members of European Parliament (MEPs).

Far-right, populist parties are set to see significant gains, as a rising tide of euroskepticism ripples through the European Union, with major implications for the bloc's future policy agenda, legislation and broader foreign policy.

"We are seeing a rise in populist sentiment both in Europe and globally, which might result in the most right-wing European Parliament in history," Tim Adams, president and CEO of the Institute of International Finance, told CNBC via email.

The European Parliament, one of three institutions at the heart of the European Union, decides EU laws and budgets. It is made up of MEPs, who are elected by each member state and come together to form European party groups.

The parliament has, in the past, been led by a strong majority of centrist parties. But projected losses for the ruling "super grand coalition" — made up of the European People's Party, the Socialists and Democrats and Renew Europe — and gains for the far-right have thrown this balance into question.

The latest opinion polls suggest big seat wins for the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR), which includes Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni's Brothers of Italy and Poland's Law and Justice, and the radical right Identity and Democracy (ID) group, which features French politician Marine Le Pen's France's Rassemblement National and the Netherlands' Party for Freedom.

While gains for these parties are unlikely to tip the balance of