World
Vote on new Commission signals EU Parliament instability and ambiguity
The European Commission was approved by the Parliament with the lowest support ever, and it’s not clear which political groups it can count on. But it is not necessarily a bad thing for Ursula von der Leyen.
Ursula von der Leyen’s new European Commission received the green light from the Parliament, but the outcome of the vote portends stormy waters more than plain sailing.
The 370 votes in favour represent 54% of all votes cast, and even less (51%) of the total number of MEPs, 719. For one reason or another, only one in two lawmakers was able to endorse the new college of commissioners.
This is the slimmest majority in history for a new Commission, and in hindsight, there may be no stable majority at all during the five-year legislature.
How many groups will form the majority?
The voting records highlight how the three centrist groups that formed the previous legislature’s majority could not guarantee a simple majority in the chamber.
The European People’s Party (EPP), Socialists and Democrats (S&D), and Renew Europe accounted for 308 votes together—far from the threshold of 360 votes.
For different reasons, the centre-right EPP and centre-left S&D suffered significant defections. Spain’s Partido Popular, an EPP member with 22 MEPs, voted against the new college because it includes Spanish Vice President Teresa Ribera, a member of its rival centre-left PSOE (S&D) party.
Belgian and French Socialists opposed von der Leyen’s choice of conservative right-wing Italian, Raffaele Fitto, as vice president, which also lost votes from a couple of Italian Socialist MEPs. The 14 German S&D MEPs either voted against or abstained.
This does not mean that these groups will always be split on legislative issues, but it means that to guarantee a majority to pass legislation, some form of political crutch will likely be needed, whether from the right or the left of the hemicycle.
“I believe that we could also find some consensus, some agreement with the Greens on the one hand, or the European Conservatives and Reformists on the other hand,” David McAllister, a prominent, veteran German EPP MEP, told Euronews.
This had always been planned by EPP leader Manfred Weber, who envisaged a “broad centre in the European Parliament, from the Greens to ECR” during a press conference the day before the vote.
However, neither the Greens nor the ECR have entirely supported the European Commission. The Greens/EFA group was split, with 27 votes in favour, 19 against, and six abstentions, while the ECR had 39 lawmakers against, 33 in favour, and four abstentions.
Greens and Conservatives at odds with each other
Above all, these two groups do not seem eager to cooperate with one another.
“There is not a real majority today in the European Union. […] Manfred Weber thinks that it can one day turn to the far right to build relationships or alliances, destroying environmental laws in particular. And then the next day, when it suits them, turn to the coalition of democrats and pro-European forces. It’s absolutely unworthy,” Green MEP Marie Toussaint, who voted against the college along with her entire French delegation, told Euronews.
Other Green members voted in favour of the new Commission but continue to highlight their disagreement with what they see as a clear shift to the right. “We still have fundamental problems with Fitto as executive vice president, and we really think that is a mistake. But it is also clear that we do want to work now,” Greens/EFA co-chair Bas Eickhout told Euronews after the vote.
On the other side, Conservative MEPs who supported the Commission claim their choice was made precisely to reverse the Green Deal and change the previous legislature’s policies. “There may be different numbers in this Parliament compared to the previous one. I think that the role of the European Conservatives will be to really move the axis of this European legislature rightwards,” Carlo Fidanza, head of the Brothers of Italy delegation—the largest in the ECR—told Euronews.
ADVERTISEMENTLawmakers from ECR’s Polish member party PiS voted against the Commission, but this did not concern ECR’s co-chair Nicola Procaccini, who recalled the group’s tradition of allowing delegations freedom of choice.
Nor does he feel he belongs to a new majority, indeed in his words, “there is no majority”.
“In the EU, the Commission is not linked to a majority in the European Parliament. There was no ‘Ursula majority’ last time, and there is no majority now. Each vote will have a different majority, based on contents,” he claimed during a press briefing.
This is the prevailing sentiment in Strasbourg after the vote, and the President of the European Commission likely knows it. Ursula von der Leyen never mentioned the word “majority” during her long speech presenting the college of commissioners to the Parliament, nor did she mention any political groups she plans to rely on.
ADVERTISEMENTHer mantra remains cooperation with “pro-EU”, “pro-Ukraine”, and “pro-rule of law” political forces, adaptable to the Greens or the Conservatives depending on the circumstances and the topics at hand.
On the other hand, the European Parliament can continue its legislative work even if fractured and with an unstable majority, according to German Socialist MEP René Repasi, who believes the “real work” is done at the technical level in the EP’s committees.
“[This situation] basically means that we need to trust more that compromise amendments forged at a committee level will be respected by the plenary,” he told Euronews. “If we make compromise amendments in committees, we do not reopen them here in the plenary. I think there is a way we can move forward.”
Note: Map shows the area with a shake intensity of 3 or greater, which U.S.G.S. defines as “weak,” though the earthquake may be felt outside the areas shown. The New York Times
A strong, 6.0-magnitude earthquake struck in the Gulf of California on Tuesday, according to the United States Geological Survey.
The temblor happened at 1:45 p.m. Mountain time about 47 miles southwest of El Progreso, Mexico, data from the agency shows.
As seismologists review available data, they may revise the earthquake’s reported magnitude. Additional information collected about the earthquake may also prompt U.S.G.S. scientists to update the shake-severity map.
Subsequent quakes have been reported in the same area. Such temblors are typically aftershocks caused by minor adjustments along the portion of a fault that slipped at the time of the initial earthquake.
Aftershocks detected
Quakes and aftershocks within 100 miles
Aftershocks can occur days, weeks or even years after the first earthquake. These events can be of equal or larger magnitude to the initial earthquake, and they can continue to affect already damaged locations.
The New York Times
When quakes and aftershocks occurred
Sources: United States Geological Survey (epicenter, aftershocks, shake intensity); LandScan via Oak Ridge National Laboratory (population density) | Notes: Shaking categories are based on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale. When aftershock data is available, the corresponding maps and charts include earthquakes within 100 miles and seven days of the initial quake. All times above are Mountain time. Shake data is as of Tuesday, June 30 at 2:02 p.m. Mountain time. Aftershocks data is as of Tuesday, June 30 at 6:01 p.m. Mountain time.
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Emergency workers in Venezuela on Tuesday rescued a 2-year-old boy who had been trapped beneath the rubble for six days, marking the only reported rescue of a survivor on the sixth day of operations following last week’s devastating earthquakes.
Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez said in a Telegram post that Jordanian emergency workers pulled the child from a collapsed building in La Guaira, an area hit the hardest by last week’s earthquakes.
The child, identified by authorities as Klieber Moran, was rescued after spending six days trapped beneath the rubble, Rodríguez said.
Moran was taken to a hospital for treatment, she added.
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A Jordanian team works to rescue a child trapped under rubble following earthquakes in Venezuela, in a location given as Caracas, Venezuela. (Jordan Public Security/Handout via REUTERS)
National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez said in a televised address Tuesday that officials remain hopeful more survivors will be found.
“We must hold onto the hope of continuing to find people alive beneath the rubble,” Jorge said. “Early this morning, a 2-year-old boy was rescued and is currently receiving care at a health center in Caracas.”
Rescue efforts have continued since magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 earthquakes struck Venezuela’s northern coast last Wednesday.
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Emergency workers rescued a 2-year-old boy after he spent six days trapped beneath the rubble following last week’s earthquakes in Venezuela. (Jordan Public Security/Handout via REUTERS)
The death toll from the twin earthquakes rose to 1,943 on Tuesday, with more than 10,500 people injured, according to Venezuelan officials. On Monday, the death toll stood at 1,719.
Tuesday’s rescue marked another glimmer of hope amid the disaster that has devastated the South American country.
On Saturday, the U.S. State Department shared video showing American search-and-rescue teams pulling an infant alive from beneath the rubble in Venezuela.
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A child receives emergency medical attention after being rescued by a Jordanian team from under rubble following earthquakes in Venezuela. (Jordan Public Security/Handout via REUTERS)
The infant, who is 9 months old, was rescued along with her mother, the State Department told Fox News Digital. Both suffered only minor injuries, according to the rescue team.
“Against impossible odds, hope endures,” the State Department posted on X.
On Tuesday, a shipment from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) containing 47 metric tons of humanitarian supplies arrived in Venezuela.
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Emergency workers rescued 2-year-old Klieber Moran from beneath the rubble of a collapsed building in Venezuela six days after the country’s devastating earthquakes, according to Venezuelan officials. (Jordan Public Security/Handout via REUTERS)
The shipment includes emergency health kits for urgent medical care, including supplies for safe births, newborn care, disease prevention and treatment, according to the United Nations.
Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) teams from Virginia, California and Florida were dispatched to Venezuela on Friday to help search collapsed buildings.
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According to the State Department, the three USAR teams include 312 personnel and 18 canine teams, made up of firefighters, physicians, structural engineers and canine search specialists, and deployed with more than 200,000 pounds of specialized rescue equipment.
Reuters contributed to this report.
European Union monitors say the first half of 2026 was ‘marked by sustained and exceptional ocean warmth’ and forecast more to come.
Published On 1 Jul 2026
The world’s oceans experienced their “warmest June ever observed” and could see further record-breaking highs in the months ahead as El Niño and climate change push temperatures higher, according to a new report.
The European Union’s Copernicus Marine Service said on Wednesday that “record global sea surface temperatures” of 21.0 degrees Celsius (69.8 degrees Fahrenheit) in June beat the previous records in the same month in 2023 and 2024.
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“The first six months of 2026 were characterised by persistently elevated sea-surface temperatures and widespread marine heatwaves across much of the global ocean,” the EU’s marine environment monitor said in a statement.
“Marine heatwaves expanded steadily throughout the period, ultimately affecting around 82 percent of the global ocean,” said Simon van Gennip, lead oceanographer for the Copernicus Marine Service.
“The Mediterranean, the central North Atlantic and the equatorial Pacific all emerged as hotspots, and these regional signals paint a consistent picture of an ocean under sustained thermal stress,” Van Gennip said in a statement.
The onset of a potentially powerful El Nino weather pattern could boost global heat in the oceans and atmosphere even further in 2026, and into next year, according to scientists.
“Current conditions could indicate the beginning of a new phase, leading, once more, to uncharted territory,” said Carlo Buontempo, director of the Copernicus Climate Change Service, the EU’s climate monitor.
“With ocean temperatures at these levels and El Nino on the horizon, we are likely to see more temperature records fall in the coming months,” Buontempo said in a statement.
El Nino is marked by unusually warm waters in parts of the Pacific Ocean, releasing more heat into the atmosphere and influencing wind, cloud and weather patterns around the globe. This can raise the risk of weather extremes, ranging from floods in Peru to droughts in parts of Africa and wildfires in Australia.
Land and sea temperatures reached an all-time high in 2024 at the tail end of the last El Nino, and 2026 could be among the warmest years recorded with the onset of the next El Nino this year.
The Copernicus report follows a warning issued in a major UN scientific assessment last month, which declared that the world’s oceans were in a “deepening crisis” as seas were warming and rising faster.
Oceans are a key regulator of Earth’s climate because they absorb some 90 percent of the excess heat caused by humanity’s release of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide.
Warmer oceans increase moisture in the atmosphere, providing fuel for tropical cyclones and destructive rainfall.
Hotter seas also directly contribute to sea-level rise – water expands when it warms up – and create unbearable conditions for tropical reefs, whose corals can bleach and die during prolonged marine heatwaves.
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