This has been happening somewhat under the radar, even as the flashier elements of the European Union's top-tier countries command the stage at the moment.
Mostly for telling President Trump, 'No' about everything.
HEY! WE DIDN'T START THIS!
The current difficulties caused by the ongoing operations in Iran are bringing home with epic force the folly of the energy policy the Europeans have been doggedly pursuing for the past two decades.
Even everyone's favorite imperial Bond Villainess, European Union President Ursula Von der Leyen, has ruefully come to that same 'folly' conclusion, sending around a little letter to EU member heads of state.
I know, she writes, that we can't do anything about those pigheaded Germans, but the rest of you might have time to save yourselves...'
She politely begged anyone willing to listen not to 'prematurely' decommission their nuclear facilities. They might just be needed after all.
Ahead of this week’s European Council meeting, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen sent a letter to EU heads of state highlighting Europe’s energy vulnerabilities, as the bloc faces new geopolitical pressure from the Middle East crisis.
Von der Leyen’s letter signalled a notable shift in tone on energy policy as she acknowledged the need for the EU to rely on nuclear energy.
“Avoiding the premature decommissioning of facilities such as existing nuclear power plants, which can continue to supply reliable, cost-effective, and low-emission electricity, can also play a role,” she wrote.
Von der Leyen is facing climate cult headwinds in her own government, with the EU's Energy Commissioner insisting that renewables are the only thing that is going to provide Europe's salvation. And the very well-heeled green-energy NGO lobby is shrieking that deregulation would be the end of the world as they know it, because it would undermine all the wonderful things renewables have already accomplished for the continent. Not to mention severely impacting the grift they have going.
So, of course, it mustn't be done.
...Today, EU environment NGOS warn against deregulation arguing that this move could “weaken the foundations of the Single Market and undermining Europe’s long‑term competitiveness, security and public health”.
“Europe cannot build competitiveness by dismantling the very protections that keep people healthy, drive innovation, support clean industries and ensure a level playing field. Deregulation may look like an easy political win, but it will weaken Europe’s resilience, deepen inequalities and expose citizens to greater climate and pollution risks” they said.
Oh, it's not going to be an easy reversal at this point.
And that's precisely what's been underpinning the shift analysts have been seeing in the European Parliament, where MEPs (members of the European Parliament) are elected from their respective countries and sent off to Brussels to do what little of the people's business they are actually empowered to do.
It started a couple of years ago, where the center mass moved ever so slightly rightward, as immigration, inflation, the horrific gas price shocks of the Ukraine War and Nord Stream, and tougher environmental strictures all began taking their toll on a population that was simply worn out.
The recent European Parliament elections revealed a citizenry exhausted by economic stagnation and centralized planning. More than 350 million Europeans voted to shift the balance of power from the center to the right.
— Foundation for Economic Education (@feeonline) June 13, 2024
To understand the context of European politics and its… pic.twitter.com/OttapCwvnx
Even as 'right-wing' populist parties gained ascendancy in countries like France, Austria, and Germany, so too were those popular policies reflected as gains in the EUP. So, too, was there supposed to be a 'firewall' protecting the sacrosanct center and center-right from the sullying influence of the 'far-right,' elected or not.
That middle ground party is the European People's Party (EPP).
But strange dealings are afoot that have the firewall purists crying 'foul!'
One of the biggest shocks to the sclerotic system came a month ago, when what was termed a 'right-wing victory' shook the long-running and untouchable open-door EU immigration scheme to its core.
Right-wing victory in Brussels as EU parliament votes to ease transfer of migrants to third countries
The European Parliament has approved new regulations to tighten EU migration and asylum policy, including the “safe third country” concept, with 396 MEPs in favor of the changes and 226 against.
The rules will allow EU member states to deem asylum applications inadmissible if the applicant transited through a country deemed “safe” where they could have sought protection. They also facilitate the transfer of asylum seekers to third countries (outside the EU), even if the applicant has no direct connection to that country, provided a transit connection or similar link exists.
Confederation MEP Ewa Zajączkowska-Hernik took to X to celebrate the win and explain what this means for migration.
“We have just WON a crucial vote in the European Parliament regarding the application of the ‘safe third country’ concept, which I have been working on for the last few months! Please share and publicize this, so that as many people as possible can hear about it, because the mainstream media is silent!” Zajączkowska-Hernik shared on social media.
The scandal breaking about the vote is not that the far-right party MEPs voted for the legislation, but that the EDD may have coordinated working on the legislation with them.
QUELLE HORREUR!!
It's simply not done, you understand, this working across the aisle with...sniff...those people.
In German politics, the rule is supposed to be simple: no cooperation with the far right. The "Brandmauer" — the firewall against the far-right populist AfD party — is treated as a democratic red line, at least at a national level. But in Brussels and Strasbourg, a larger and more unsettling question is emerging: Does Europe's center-right still believe in isolating the far right, or is it increasingly relying on it to secure majorities and pass legislation when convenient?
That question has become louder after reports that lawmakers from the European People's Party (EPP), the dominant force on the European center-right, coordinated with far-right groups ahead of key votes on migration policy, including proposals for so-called "return hubs", deportation centers outside the EU.
The significance of the reports is not just that the far right voted with the center-right, but that there may have been prior contact, agreement on wording and efforts to assemble a joint majority. The real story may go beyond one controversial vote. It hinges on whether the EPP is developing a new governing habit: Working with the pro-European center when possible and turning to the far right when useful.
There is well and truly freaking out going on, as well as a good amount of 'get over yourselves.'
...Nicolai von Ondarza, an expert on EU institutions at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP), argues that this is not just a one-off case. It signals a structural change in how the Parliament works. "The EU is moving in the direction of something like a minority government in the European Parliament," he said to DW. In his view, the EPP is increasingly choosing between two possible majorities: The traditional pro-European coalition with Socialists and Liberals, and, in a growing number of cases, a majority with parties to its right.
That does not mean the Parliament has fully realigned. Ondarza stresses that more than 80% of decisions are still carried by the mainstream pro-European majority. But, he says, the important shift is that the right-wing alternative is no longer taboo. "It is still the exception, but an exception that is occurring more frequently."
The dire warnings abound in this European mainstream article, though.
Will the center-right's reputation take a hit?
Naturally, they're truly not in the least bit concerned for the center-right's reputation, only for the potential of releasing the 'far-right' from their artificially created containment. You can practically hear the panic.
WHAT IF THE FAR RIGHT ACTUALLY SHAPES POLICY?!?!
...Russack makes a similar point from inside the Parliament's institutional logic. The far right has long had seats, speaking time and publicity in Brussels and Strasbourg. What is changing now, she argues, is that it is increasingly able to shape outcomes, thus boosting its legitimacy. "It is one thing to be voted into parliament. It's another thing to shape decisions."
She gives the example of migration,where positions and terms that once seemed politically unthinkable have been adopted by the center-right. But the issue goes beyond migration. Once the far right becomes a long-term source of support for the center-right, it gains leverage, both experts agree. Such a development allows it to influence language, priorities and the boundaries of European policy.
I'll bet they're worried.
Major win in Europe: EU Parliament committee approves plan to ramp up deportations of third-world migrants, impose lifetime entry bans, and force countries to take them back—driven by a right-wing majority. pic.twitter.com/Ws3Wq6Awgm
— Brandon Straka #WalkAway (@BrandonStraka) March 12, 2026
This first victory is a sea-change.
A right-wing vote in the European Parliament sets the EU on a path of more deportations of illegal migrants.
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) March 11, 2026
The Civil Liberties Committee of the European Parliament has voted 41-32 in favor of amending the Return Directive, requiring migrant cooperation, allowing up to 24… pic.twitter.com/A3WsrNUYeP
The Civil Liberties Committee of the European Parliament has voted 41-32 in favor of amending the Return Directive, requiring migrant cooperation, allowing up to 24 months detention for non-cooperators or security risks, and introducing enforceable 'European return orders' across Schengen by July 2027.
The centre-right EPP party group joined the ECR, PfE, and ESN in backing the reforms, while the rapporteur Malik Azmani's milder text was rejected.
The changes respond to pressures like the increase in illegal migration to Europe by boat from Africa through the Canary Islands, with supporters like @weimers calling it a historic right-wing deal
Because once that historic breach is complete and the EUP functions as it should, with the majority parties working alongside instead of standing off, the fast-track so long enjoyed by every dystopian whim on the uber-woke agenda of the Brussels Brahmins may come to a screeching halt. Perhaps even begin to suffer reversals of fortune, as with this immigration legislation.
There is suddenly a potential braking mechanism on the EU's hierarchy.
And, who knows - the Germans may agitate to come along for an equal ride in their government.
Wouldn't that just upset everyone?
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