The EPP, S&D, ALDE, Greens/EFA and GUE/NGL groups in the European Parliament finally agreed on a joint draft resolution on the rise of neo-fascist violence in Europe, confirmed several sources on Tuesday 23 October.
As a reminder, the MEPs, who had already debated the subject at the beginning of October at the request of the GUE/NGL Group (see EUROPE 12109), are responsible for drafting a resolution, in readiness for a vote scheduled for Thursday 25 October. On Monday, there was still uncertainty about the content of the text as five different draft resolutions had been put on the table (see EUROPE 12112).
The seven-page joint draft resolution contains far fewer recitals than the version of the S&D, Greens/EFA and GUE/NGL groups, which aimed to reflect the scale of the phenomenon with several concrete cases of attacks perpetrated by neo-Nazi, fascist or far-right movements throughout the EU. This was indeed the main criticism made by the other groups who wanted a more general resolution.
Retained, in particular were references to the murder of British MP Jo Cox in 2016, the Norwegian attacks in 2011 where 77 people were killed or the attack on MEP Eleonora Forenza (GUE/NGL) and her assistant, Antonio Perillo, on 21 September during an antifascist demonstration in Bari.
All in all, the text largely incorporates the joint proposals of the S&D, Greens/EFA and GUE/NGL groups, particularly the establishment of ‘exit programmes’ to help people leave violent neo-fascist and neo-Nazi groups.
Presumably, the ECR and ENF groups would then have to support their own texts. As a reminder, the ECR absolutely wanted to see in the final resolution a definition of neo-fascism as well as a warning against assimilating patriotism with extreme nationalism. (Original version in French by Marion Fontana)