World
Survey rates parties on Green Deal – from 'pro' to 'prehistoric'
As European elections loom, a survey has revealed the extent to which the flagship Green Deal agenda of the von der Leyen Commission has divided even the centre ground in EU politics.
The voting patterns of MEPs over the past five years have confirmed a clear party political division over climate action and nature protection, revealing in addition to a predictable gulf between the positions of the Greens and the far-right a clear fault line running through the political centre.
Five of the largest Brussels based environmental NGOs analysed 30 key pieces of environmental legislation and ascribed scores from zero to 100 based on whether lawmakers supported or rejected the more ambitious action and targets the groups have been advocating, tagging the latter as ‘prehistoric’. The Greens/EFA group came top with an overall score of 92, while the far-right nationalist ID, which has routinely proposed the outright rejection of green legislation, earned just six points.
But the survey, published today (15 April), also showed wide divergence between the centre-left Socialists & Democrats who scored 70, and the centre-right European People’s Party (EPP), which rated just 25 despite being the political home of European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, who placed the Green Deal at the centre of the EU executive’s political programme.
The liberal Renew scored 56, a reflection of frequent splits within the group when it came to votes on environmental and climate policy proposals. The results show similar splits within other groups, often based on the national party affiliation of their constituent MEPs.
The data reveals another clear voting pattern that can be seen when environment policy is subdivided into climate action, nature protection and pollution prevention. Broadly speaking, if a political party takes opposes setting the most ambitious measures to tackle climate action, it will take a similar stance in the other two broad areas.
It is nature protection legislation, which has recently seen a forceful pushback from the EPP amid widespread farmers’ protests across Europe, where the political divide is the widest, with the Greens and the Left group on 94 and 87 respectively, while the EPP and conservative ECR group rate 19 and 13 respectively.
Speaking at an event in Brussels to present the findings, the Bulgarian EPP group lawmaker Radan Kanev described himself as “greener than the average conservative” but still placed himself somewhere between the categories of ‘prehistoric thinkers’ and ‘procrastinators’ the study authors used for the lower of its three bands, with those scoring over 70 deemed ‘protectors’ of the environment.
“I am deeply convinced no policy is black and white,” he said. “We need people like you [the report’s authors] who are advocating for maximum ambition, but I also believe you need people like me who are trying to mediate…and avoid the utmost polarisation of our political spectrum,” he said, referring to what he saw as the impossibility of a stable climate strategy in the US, where the coming election could lead to a “complete overthrow” of existing policy.
The Bulgarian lawmaker was particularly critical of the extension of the EU’s emissions trading system, to road transport and buildings, where a carbon price based on fossil fuel consumption will apply from 2027 – a proposal supported by the overwhelming majority of EPP group members. “In my view there are very few more stupid things ever done at the political level,” Kanev said. “I’m sure there will be a very violent outburst of anti-European public reaction,” he said of the impact he expects in his home country.
Green Belgian MEP Saskia Bricmont warned against a return to “business as usual” on environment policy as the EU policy agenda tilts toward security and economic issues. “What I see now is a complete backlash,” she said of her opponents in the forthcoming European elections. “Even the progressives that voted with us on climate policies are not making it a priority,” the Belgian lawmaker said.
Chiara Martinelli, director of Climate Action Network Europe, one of the groups behind the survey, warned of the upcoming European elections could see environmental policy once more marginalised. “Now is the time for European citizens to wake up to the real possibility of a European Parliament full of prehistoric thinkers – to get out and vote for parties that can provide the climate protectors we so deeply need to improve and strengthen the European Green Deal,” she said.
William Todts, director of the campaign alliance Transport & Environment, suggested Brussels might be the only source of environmental protection laws for many EU member states. “The EU is a force for good when it comes to climate action,” Todts said in a statement accompanying the NGOs’ report. “From clean cars to carbon taxes for planes and ships, the EU has done what national governments couldn’t or wouldn’t do.”
As Israel’s war on Lebanon rages, hundreds gather in Rmeileh by Sidon Gate to watch the 2026 World Cup. Organised by influencer Bilal Haddad, the fan zone offers food trucks, shisha and family activities, giving people a rare chance to relax. Al Jazeera’s Justin Salhani went to check it out.
Published On 20 Jun 2026
WASHINGTON (AP) — Mark Schiefelbein has been based in Washington, D.C., with AP for about three years, and before that spent a decade in Beijing at AP’s China bureau.
Here’s what he had to say about this extraordinary photo.
Why this photo?
This was an event that had never happened before in the 250-year history of the United States and may never happen again: a night of mixed martial-arts cage match brawls on the South Lawn of the White House, with bloodied competitors battling it out in front of the president, vice president, and other leaders of the country. AP had other photographers ringside at the event focusing more on the fights themselves. So I felt my role was to capture the context of the evening — the location, the people in attendance, the environment.
How I made this photo
A small group of other photographers and I, the White House press pool, had been allowed to photograph part of the evening from a position in the stands directly opposite the White House. I was carrying four cameras with a variety of lenses from 12 mm to 300 mm. This let me capture everything from ultra-wide views of the “claw” structure built for the fights, to close-ups of leaders and celebrities in attendance. I had been following Diego Lopes with my longest lens as he moved around the ring celebrating his win over Steve Garcia. When I saw him start to climb onto the cage, I immediately realized there might be a possibility of a picture like this and zoomed out to capture more of the scene.
An octagon on the White House lawn for Trump’s 80th birthday and the nation’s 250th, in photos
Why this photo works
The White House is surely one of the most recognizable buildings in the world. The columns of the South Portico, the fighter standing with arms and legs spread wide in celebration, and the octagon padding of the UFC ring tell an entire story as your eyes move from top to bottom of the frame. With Lopes standing with his back to the camera, facing the White House, it becomes less a photo of him and more about the evening, the event, and the spectacle. It was fortunate that it was after nightfall, so things that might have been distracting, like the Marine Band and spectators seated behind the ring, are mostly in the dark. Only the key elements – the White House, Lopes, and the ring are lit up.
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For more extraordinary AP photography, click here.
World
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer faces potential leadership challenge from newly-elected Andy Burnham
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Andy Burnham has officially won his special election and regained a seat in Parliament, setting him up to challenge the deeply unpopular Keir Starmer as the leader of the Labour party and as prime minister.
Burnham, currently the mayor of Greater Manchester in northwest England, won a seat in Makerfield and came away with 55% of the vote in a field of more than a dozen candidates, according to The Associated Press. The runner-up was Rob Kenyon of Reform UK, a right-wing populist party, who received more than 9,000 fewer votes than Burnham.
Burnham last served as a member of Parliament in 2017 but strongly implied in his victory speech that he is returning with the intention to lead the United Kingdom.
“Everyone knows that politics isn’t working. Everyone can feel that the country isn’t where it should be. Tonight could, just could, be the turning point,” he said, according to the AP. “This result will bring about a country that works fairly for everywhere and for everybody.”
TRUMP ALLY NIGEL FARAGE DEALS MAJOR BLOW TO STARMER IN LOCAL UK ELECTIONS AS RESIGNATION CALLS MOUNT
Britain’s Labour party candidate Andy Burnham speaks to supporters after the Makerfield by-election in Ashton in Makerfield, England, on Friday, June 19, 2026. (Jon Super/AP)
This special election, called by-elections in Britain, was unusually significant because the area’s Labour MP, Josh Simons, intentionally resigned to allow Burnham to win the seat and pursue leadership.
The potentially outsized impact of this election was juxtaposed with the strange scene that unfolded when all the candidates gathered on Friday morning to hear the results. Burnham stood in between an independent candidate dressed in a fox costume and another candidate known as “Count Binface”.
As his name suggests, “Count Binface,” whose real name is Jonathan David Harvey, was wearing a trash can on his head and regularly runs in U.K. elections to advocate for increased voter turnout.
Starmer congratulated Burnham in a social media post on X, saying voters “chose Labour’s campaign of hope and optimism over division and hate.”
When asked about Burnham’s intentions to oust him as leader, Starmer said he will fight to remain prime minister, a position he has held for nearly two years.
“I’ve said repeatedly I’m not going to walk away from that,” Starmer told reporters.
Labour party candidate Andy Burnham, center, stands with other candidates on the podium at the Edge Wigan, awaiting the Makerfield by-election result announcement in Wigan, England, on Friday, June 19, 2026. (Jon Super/AP)
AS EPSTEIN-LINKED APPOINTMENT SPARKS BACKLASH, UK PM STARMER FACES PARTY REVOLT AMID RESIGNATION CALLS
Starmer led the Labour party to a landslide victory in July 2024 and ever since, his popularity has been eroding thanks to a persistently high cost of living, an anemic economy and a scandal over his willingness to accept gifts from wealthy donors.
Last September, Starmer was slammed for appointing Peter Mandelson as the British ambassador to the United States, when it was known as early as 2019 that Mandelson had a friendship with convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Following an enormous public backlash, Mandelson was quickly dismissed from his post.
With Starmer as leader, Labour is increasingly losing liberal-minded voters to the Green Party, while also facing stronger challenges by Reform UK, a Nigel Farage-led party that advocates against mass migration and in favor of tighter border controls. Farage, an ally of U.S. President Donald Trump, said he was disappointed by Burnham’s victory.
Burnham is expected to head to London to be sworn in as soon as Monday. Under the British parliamentary system, the governing party can hold leadership elections in the middle of the term. The winner of such a contest can become prime minister without there having to be a national election.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer awaits Switzerland’s Federal President Guy Parmelin on the sidelines of the G7 summit, in Evian-les-Bains, France, on Tuesday, June 16, 2026 (Isabel Infantes/Pool Reuters via AP)
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Under Labour rules, a lawmaker can challenge the leader if they win the backing of a fifth of their party’s members in the House of Commons. Burnham has enough lawmakers on board to trigger a leadership contest, according to a report from The New Statesman.
According to the AP, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said Burnham and Starmer will “have a conversation about what comes next” in the next few days.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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