BRUSSELS — Europe’s nationalist parties capitalized in the European Parliament election on voter disquiet over spiraling prices, migration and the cost of the green transition and will now seek to translate their seat gains into influence on European Union (EU) policy.

Nationalist, populist and Euroskeptic parties were on course to win just under a quarter of seats in the EU assembly, according to the chamber’s own projections.

It reflects a growing trend in the West to turn from the mainstream and status quo towards radical alternatives such as former and possibly future US President Donald Trump.

In previous elections, radical right parties talked of leaving the European Union or its single currency, echoing the calls of British Brexiteers. Now these parties want to influence it from within.

Nationalist prime ministers are already in place in Hungary, Italy and Slovakia, right-wing parties are governing or supporting in Finland and Sweden, while Geert Wilders’ anti-immigrant Freedom Party appears poised to enter a ruling coalition in the Netherlands.

Armida van Rij, senior research fellow at Chatham House, said “cordon sanitaire” policies to exclude hard right parties are eroding.

“People know now it’s not just a lost vote,” she said, adding that populist parties’ extensive use of social media is also bringing in younger voters.

EU EXECUTIVE CHIEF VOTE
Gerolf Annemans, a lawmaker of Belgium’s Vlaams Belang party, said the new parliament should scrap a recently agreed EU migration pact, soften the Green Deal and find a more right-leaning alternative to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

The new parliament’s first test, to determine the next Commission president, could come as early as July. Ms. Von der Leyen will be in pole position for a second term given her center-right European People’s Party (EPP) is set to be the biggest group.

However, she may need support from some right-wing nationalists, such as Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy, to secure a parliamentary majority, giving Ms. Meloni and allies more leverage.

Luigi Scazzieri, senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform, said the center-right EPP has already cooled on attempts to fold broader environmental policies into the Green Deal package. Mr. Scazzieri said he could also envisage a right-wing push to increase external processing of migrants and a tougher passage of reforms required to allow EU enlargement, such as reducing the need for unanimity in decisions.

“I expect this to play out over time rather than have an immediate effect,” Mr. Scazzieri said. “They also have quite a powerful shaping effect on the broader political debate.”

Corina Stratulat, associate director of think tank the European Policy Centre (EPC), said a key determinant would be the degree to which the radical right could unite. They do not have a strong record.

French far-right leader Marine Le Pen has urged Italy’s Ms. Meloni to form a right-wing grand alliance, but Le Pen’s party and allies expelled Alternative for Germany only last month, while an alliance including Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s Fidesz would be a step too far for some of Ms. Meloni’s allies, such as Belgian’s N-VA.

An EPC study concluded that this lack of cohesion means the radical right would need to win more than 70% of European Parliament seats to completely control vote outcomes — a figure they almost certainly will not reach. — Reuters

BEIJING — The US poses the largest security challenge in the South China Sea as its military deployment there is turning it into “the whirlpool of an arms race,” Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong said in remarks published on Sunday.

Recent maritime run-ins between China and the Philippines, a US treaty ally, have made the highly strategic South China Sea a potential flashpoint between Washington and Beijing.

“At present, the biggest security challenge in the South China Sea comes from outside the region,” Mr. Sun said in comments published by his ministry, after attending a high-level meeting on East Asian cooperation in Laos.

Mr. Sun said US-led forces were “promoting military deployment and actions in the South China Sea, inciting and intensifying maritime disputes and contradictions, and damaging the legitimate rights and interests of coastal countries.”

A move by the United States to deploy medium-range missile systems in the area “is dragging the region into the whirlpool of an arms race, placing the entire Asia Pacific region under the shadow of geopolitical conflicts,” Mr. Sun said.

China is committed to properly managing disputes with the parties in the South China Sea through dialogue, he added.

In April, the Philippines said during a meeting with US allies that it was determined to assert its sovereign rights in the South China Sea, accusing China of escalating “its harassment” of the Philippines.

China claims almost the entire South China Sea, a conduit for more than $3 trillion in annual ship commerce, and has deployed hundreds of coast guard vessels as far as 1,000 km off its mainland to police what it says is its jurisdiction.

The Philippines and China have sparred repeatedly this past year near disputed features that fall within Manila’s exclusive economic zone. China routinely accuses the Philippines of encroachment while Manila and its allies have condemned what they call aggression by Beijing.

The United States has said it stands with Manila. — Reuters

KUALA LUMPUR — Diesel fuel prices in much of Malaysia rose by roughly 50% on Monday as the government began shifting away from costly blanket subsidies to a targeted approach that mainly helps the needy.

Malaysia, which heavily subsidizes prices of fuel, cooking oil and rice among other basic items, has seen its subsidy bill rise to record levels in recent years amid surging commodity prices, straining government coffers.

Its diesel subsidy bill alone has risen 10-fold from 1.4 billion ringgit in 2019 to 14.3 billion ringgit in 2023.

The government said last month its plan to cut diesel subsidies this year is expected to save about 4 billion ringgit ($853.24 million) annually, with the savings expected to be re-directed to low-income groups.

The Finance Ministry said in a statement on Sunday it will begin setting diesel fuel prices to align them with market prices.

The retail price of diesel fuel will rise to 3.35 ringgit ($0.71) per liter starting at midnight at all petrol stations across Peninsular Malaysia, the ministry said.

It will remain at 2.15 ringgit per liter in Malaysian states and territories on Borneo, as well as for eligible logistics vehicles under the government’s subsidized diesel control system.

Lower diesel prices have also been set for fishermen and land public transport vehicles such as school buses and ambulances, the ministry said.

The government will provide cash assistance to eligible Malaysian individuals owning diesel vehicles, as well as small-scale farmers and commodity smallholders to mitigate the potential impact on their incomes, the ministry said.

Despite the subsidy cuts, diesel prices in Malaysia will remain among the lowest in Southeast Asia, with the fuel retailing at the equivalent of 8.79 ringgit per liter in Singapore, 4.43 ringgit in Indonesia, and 4.24 ringgit in Thailand, the ministry said. — Reuters