WORLD BRIEFING: June 10, 2024

The first projections for the EU elections show the centre-right European People's Party has strengthened its majority in Parliament. European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said "the centre is holding" as she hailed victory for her party. Far-right parties have also made gains in Italy, Austria and Germany as liberal and green parties see losses. French President Emmanuel Macron dissolved the French Parliament and called snap elections for June 30 after his alliance suffered a big defeat to the far-right. Exit polls show Marine Le Pen's National Rally are set to trounce Macron's party in a historic win for the party. Voter turnout is estimated to be 51% in this election, very slightly higher than it was in 2019. About 360 million eligible voters were choosing 720 new Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) - BBC

French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz suffered massive defeats in the European Parliament elections Sunday, as far-right parties made gains that could sway the bloc to take a harder line on migration and upset ambitious actions to protect the environment. Despite the defeats on the national level, center-left and center-right parties across Europe are set to preserve their majority in the European Union-wide ballot, which determines the make-up of the bloc’s legislative assembly. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s European People’s Party was projected to finish first, getting 181 seats. In France, Marine Le Pen’s National Rally won with 32% of the vote — in line with expectations — while Macron’s Renaissance party trailed with 15%, according to a poll published by Ifop. In Germany, Scholz’s Social Democrats crashed to their worst-ever result, falling behind both the opposition conservatives and far-right Alternative for Germany. "The president can’t remain deaf to the message sent by the French people,” Jordan Bardella, the head of the National Rally, told supporters after the results were announced. "We solemnly ask him to take note of this new political situation, to come back to the French people and organize new legislative elections.” - Bloomberg

In response, French President Emmanuel Macron announced on Sunday evening that he would dissolve the national assembly after the far-right National Rally crushed his centrist Renew party in European elections. In a five-minute video address released on social media shortly after 21:00 CET, Macron said that "after having carried out the consultations provided for in Article 12 of our Constitution, I have decided to give you back the choice of our parliamentary future by voting…I am therefore dissolving the National Assembly this evening," he added. Macron said the national ballot, which is to be held on June 30 for the first round and on July 7 for the second, is a "serious and weighty decision" and an "act of trust….Confidence in you, my dear compatriots, in the ability of the French people to make the right choice for themselves and for future generations. Confidence in our democracy, in giving a voice to our sovereign people, nothing is more republican," he also said. - Euronews

In Italy - Prime Minister Georgia Meloni's party, Fratelli de Italia, performed well ahead - with projections of between 25 and 30% of the votes, thus strengthening its position within Europe. Meloni made the campaign very personal, with her name appearing at the top of the list and her face plastered on election posters, although she had no intention of going to sit in Brussels. But the progress of Fratelli de Italia is truly spectacular compared to the 2019 European elections where the party only gathered 6.4% of the votes - Liberation

Ukraine’s military said it had destroyed one of Russia’s newest and most advanced fighter jets in a drone strike on a military base deep inside Russia. The Sukhoi Su-57 fighter, nicknamed the “Felon” by NATO, was struck on the tarmac of an airbase in the Astrakhan region, almost 600 kilometers (372 miles) behind the front lines of fighting in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to Ukraine’s defense intelligence agency (GUR). The agency posted satellite pictures in a post on its Telegram channel to support its claim, writing, “The images show that on June 7, Su-57 was still intact, but on June 8, craters from the explosion and distinctive fire spots emerged near it as a result of the fire damage.” - CNN

Rishi Sunak has been accused of going into hiding after his disastrous decision to snub commemorations for the 80th anniversary of D-Day. After a senior minister was forced to deny he is considering quitting before the general election, Labour pointed to the fact the PM has not faced the media in more than 48 hours. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer faced a huddle of political journalists on Sunday as he announced a planned crackdown on antisocial behaviour. But Mr Sunak has not taken questions since an awkward Sky News interview in which he was confronted by veterans who said he had let the country down. He also cancelled a scheduled opportunity for reporters to quiz him, with Tory aides blaming time constraints. - The Independent

U.S. President Joe Biden on June 9 said he had reached an agreement with French President Emmanuel Macron on the use of profits from frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine. Details weren't disclosed. The Group of Seven and EU are considering how to use profits generated by Russian assets frozen in the West to provide Ukraine with a large up-front loan now and secure Kyiv's financing for 2025. Around $281 billion in Russian central bank funds are frozen worldwide, most of it in the EU. The funds generate up to $3.8 billion annually in profit, which the EU says isn't contractually owed to Russia and therefore represents a windfall. Russia says diversion profits from frozen funds would amount to theft. - RFE/RL

Ukrainian officials are pressing the U.S. and other countries to ramp up their F-16 pilot training, saying the current pipeline isn’t producing enough aviators to fly the jets that will be soon donated to Kyiv. Ukraine says it has 30 pilots who are eligible to start training in the U.S. immediately. Yet the Biden administration has told Kyiv it lacks the school seats in its Arizona-based program to accept more than 12 pilot trainees at a time, according to three people with direct knowledge of the request. Two other facilities in Denmark and Romania have a similar issue with available training spots. - Politico