EU officials can take heart that turnout was once again just above 50 percent

[...]

It should blunt the critique in many quarters of the continent that the EU is run by technocrats in Brussels without most Europeans’ explicit consent.

vs. later in the same piece:

The antiestablishment Euroskeptic parties on both the far left and the far right performed well but did not see the level of electoral successes that would have allowed them to become part of an actual governing coalition that could wield direct influence over EU policy.

So the messages I got overall are:

1. More people are voting in EU elections but they're making it clear they don't like the EU, so they are evil.
2. They haven't actually wrested enough power to change the running of EU at all, so we the holy elites can breathe a sigh of relief for now.
3. Also since the people are now exercising their vote more, we can lie to them and tell them that their modest gains actually mean they now run the EU, and that it's their fault if it sucks (aka the 'Fuck you, Brexiters' strategy; point the airplane directly at the ground and then say 'oh WELL, I thought you all voted for me to change the way I fly?!').