On Tuesday 12 September, MEPs debated the normalisation of extreme discourse on the left and right, including antisemitism, at the European Parliament’s plenary session in Strasbourg.
This is an opportunity for the Commissioner responsible for Promoting our European Way of Life, Margarítis Schinás, to go back over the European Commission’s actions to combat the phenomenon, and also for the political parties to talk about the election campaign.
Combating antisemitism
Mr Schinás called for action to combat extreme discourse, pointing out that “the distance between a racist and antisemitic post on social media to a violent attack on a European street is often tragically short”.
The EU, he added, is working on two fronts. On the one hand, through regulation of the digital space, in particular with the Digital Services Act (DSA). Secondly, with the introduction of the first European strategy to combat antisemitism.
Threat to democracy
Furthermore, all the MEPs agreed that extreme positions are detrimental to democracy. However, with the exception of Andrey Kovatchev (EPP, Bulgarian) and Bert-Jan Ruissen (ECR, Dutch), not everyone put the far left and right on the same footing.
“As long as we continue to equate left and right, the far right will gain in influence”, said Dietmar Köster (S&D, German), while Mathilde Androuët (ID, French) condemned the “accelerated criminalisation” of Europeans “wishing to protect their identity”.
The 2024 elections also entered the debate, in particular the potential alliance between the EPP and the far right. An association denounced in particular by Irena Joveva (Renew Europe, Slovenian) and Sergey Lagodinsky (Greens/EFA, German). “Where is the responsibility of the parties here?” the latter asked urgently, addressing EPP President Manfred Weber directly. (Original version in French by Hélène Seynaeve)