the European Union’s ninth parliament passed the Nature Restoration Law, committing member states to restoring at least 20 percent of “degraded” marine and terrestrial ecosystems by 2030. The law passed by 329–275 votes (with twenty-four abstentions), reflecting Europe’s ideological balance of power over the previous five years: mostly centrist, with a soft spot for the environment. That soft spot just hardened.
Europeans have elected a new parliament and, as expected, far-right politicians posted dramatic gains. They now occupy almost a quarter of the tenth parliament’s 720 seats: not enough to run the show, but sufficient to block any legislation they’re against—like the Nature Restoration Law. In the immediate aftermath of the election, attention gravitated to more pressing developments.
France’s president, Emmanuel Macron, called a snap parliamentary election after his Renaissance party was trounced by Marine Le Pen’s National Rally party. Germany’s chancellor, Olaf Scholz, faced pressure to do the same. Belgium’s prime minister, Alexander De Croo, confronted by his party’s terrible performance, resigned.
Europe’s right-wing populists have been gaining ground for years. This is often framed as an immigration-backlash story: Marine Le Pen has promised the French a referendum on strict immigration limits if they elect her president. Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni, who spent the 1990s dabbling in neo-fascism, has called for a naval blockade.
