International

How will the rise of the far right influence the day-to-day life of the EU and the European Parliament?

The European elections to renew the European Parliament have certified an increase in seats throughout the EU of ultra-conservative and far-right parties, which are placed as the first force in France, Italy, the Netherlands or Austria.

As a result, they will have more weight in decisions such as the orientation of the EU budget between 2027 and 2034, the position of the European Parliament in the defense of the rule of law and European values, the future expansion to the east or the progress in implementing climate objectives.

The coming weeks and months will determine what their real capacity for influence is, if they manage to coordinate their positions in the hemicycle and how the day-to-day legislative work in the European Union will change.

In practice, the European elections redesign only one of the three community institutions involved in the legislative process. The European Council (the Heads of State and Government) and the Council of the EU (the ministers of the Member States) remain stable, since they only renew their members when there are elections at the national level.

This means, for example, that Emmanuel Macron and his ministers will continue to represent France in the Council even though Marine Le Pen has won the European elections in France.

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A Parliament left to the right may have some influence to unbalance the confirmation vote of the president of the European Commission or the approval of his team of commissioners, but these will also be by definition “multicolored” politically because they are sent by their governments.

Most decisions in the European Parliament require the favorable vote of half plus one of the MEPs who cast their vote, so the combined 131 seats of the Conservatives and Reformists and Identity and Democracy (waiting for the like-minded non-attached) are not enough in a European Parliament with 720 seats.

To be noticed, they will need, as has been the case so far, almost all of the European People’s Party, which in this legislature inherits from the liberals the role of the “majority facilitator”: the block supported by the popular in each individual vote, whether the center-left or the ultra-right, will take the cat to the water.

Due to the nature of these groups, which often do not have enough cohesion or internal structure and respond to national interests rather than their European Parliamentary group, it tends to be difficult to find a stable majority to move legislation forward, but they can push for concrete amendments.

“It will take longer than other times to draw conclusions from these 27 elections in parallel and translate them into a clear parliamentary majority, which in my opinion will be flexible instead of permanent and will change depending on the proposals presented by the new Commission to Parliament,” said the professor of European Union Law at HEC Paris Alberto Alemanno.

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The same analyst pointed to the rise of unregistered parties or newcomers without a political family that “could play a role in recomposing the existing groups and shaping the new political cycle.”

And it is that the “cake” of the hemicycle is not yet completely distributed after this Sunday’s elections, with almost a hundred MEPs who do not belong to any group or who arrive new to the European Parliament and have not yet been associated with one of the existing ones.

From today, they can look for fit in existing groups or, if new groups are formed, join them. It will be the case of the Alternative for Germany, which will provide 15 seats, or Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz, with 10.

With them and other related groups, arithmetically it will be possible to unite the votes of popular, ultra-conservative, extreme right-right and non-registered people who sympathize with their ideas to, occasionally, carry out narrow majorities such as the one that was about to destroy the Law of the Restoration of Nature in the legislature that now ends.

The need for total cohesion in the hemicycle disappears in other decisions within the European Parliament. They are taken by weighted vote in parliamentary forums such as the Conference of Presidents (which brings together the president of the institution and heads of political groups) or among the coordinators of the political groups in the different parliamentary committees.

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In these spaces, the representative of each political group arrogates the voice and vote of all its MEPs, with no room for dissension, and – if it reaches 361 seats – EPP, ECR and ID could decant the balance in decisions on the agenda or legislative work, among others.

International

Florida judge sets 2027 trial in Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against BBC

A federal judge in Florida has scheduled February 2027 for the trial in the lawsuit filed by U.S. President Donald Trump against the BBC, in which he is seeking $10 billion in damages for defamation.

Trump accuses the British broadcaster of airing a misleading edit of a speech he delivered on January 6, 2021, which, he says, made it appear that he explicitly urged his supporters to attack the U.S. Capitol in Washington.

The president filed the suit in December in federal court in Florida, alleging defamation and violations of a law governing business practices when the program was broadcast ahead of the 2024 election.

Trump is seeking $5 billion in damages for each of the two claims.

Lawyers for the BBC unsuccessfully asked the court to dismiss the case, arguing that Trump had not suffered a “legally recognizable harm,” since the investigative program Panorama, which included the edited footage, aired outside the United States.

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International

Head-of-state diplomacy key to guiding China–U.S. ties, Beijing says

Head-of-state diplomacy plays an irreplaceable strategic guiding role in China–United States relations, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on Thursday during a regular press briefing, when asked about high-level exchanges between the two sides.

Lin added that in a recent phone call, U.S. President Donald Trump once again expressed his intention to visit China in April, while Chinese President Xi Jinping reiterated his invitation.

Both sides remain in communication regarding the matter, the spokesperson said.

Lin noted that the essence of China–U.S. economic and trade ties lies in mutual benefit and win-win outcomes.

“Both parties should work together to implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, injecting greater certainty and stability into China–U.S. economic and trade cooperation, as well as into the global economy,” he said.

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International

Trump administration to end special immigration operation in Minnesota

The administration of Donald Trump is bringing to a close its special operation targeting illegal immigration in the northern state of Minnesota, border czar Tom Homan announced Thursday, following weeks of unrest and the fatal shootings of two activists by federal agents.

Thousands of federal officers had been deployed to Minnesota in December to carry out large-scale raids against undocumented immigrants.

The operations triggered strong reactions from residents and advocacy groups, leading to daily confrontations and the deaths of two people who were shot by federal agents.

“I proposed, and President Trump agreed, that this special operation should end in Minnesota,” Homan said during a press conference in the state capital, Minneapolis.

“A significant drawdown began this week and will continue into next week,” he added.

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Homan indicated that similar enforcement efforts could be launched in other cities.

“Next week we will redeploy the agents currently here back to their home stations or to other parts of the country where they are needed. But we will continue to enforce immigration laws,” he said.