The European Parliament will be asked next week in plenary to discuss the fate of Polish MEP and current vice-president of Parliament Ryszard Czarnecki, member of the ECR group, who is involved in a controversy with a female Polish MEP, Róża Thun (EPP), whom he has insulted and compared with Nazi collaborators during the Second World War.
Parliament's Conference of Presidents made the decision on Thursday 1 February, confirming action taken since January by the EPP, S&D, ALDE and Greens/EFA to remove Czarnecki’s title as Parliament vice-president. Parliament's president, Antonio Tajani, has decided to meet the two MEPs involved.
A source says the vice-president has also been criticised for failing to apologise, but in a press release, the Conference of Presidents says this should not be seen as a criticism of Poland or the ECR group.
In its decision, the Conference of Presidents refuses to allow Czarnecki to continue to represent Parliament due to a ‘serious problem of bad behaviour’. Parliament will decide on this on Wednesday 7 February. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic with Mathieu Bion)