The political groups in the European Parliament have begun preparations to respond to the alert from the ‘Authority for European Political Parties and European Political Foundations’ (APPF) that the far-right party Europe of Sovereign Nations (ESN) may have infringed the fundamental values of the European Union (see EUROPE 13876/22).
In accordance with the two-month deadline laid down in the European regulation, MEPs must issue an opinion during Parliament’s July plenary session, in a vote by simple majority of the European elected representatives. While drafting of a text calling for the launch of a formal investigation into the ESN party appears to be well advanced at technical level, the political groups must still formally appoint internally the members responsible for finalising the wording to be retained.
At the same time, the signatures of 180 MEPs will be needed to officially ask the Conference of Presidents of the political groups (CoP) to place the vote on a draft resolution on the agenda of the plenary session beginning on Monday 6 July.
Asked about the steps under way within the EPP group, Germany’s Manfred Weber confirmed that the Christian Democrat group’s experts were examining the procedure closely, with “any decision [having] to be depoliticised”. “We will not stand in the way of a proper investigation, if this ultimately proves necessary,” he said, when asked by Agence Europe.
The German party Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) is an important member of the ESN party.
“I presume EPP group will be on board,” a parliamentary source said. According to the source, strong support from the European Parliament for the initiative will carry political weight, while the ESN party could lodge an appeal before the Court of Justice of the European Union if a formal investigation is opened against it.
At the beginning of June, The Left group urged the Greens/EFA group and the S&D group to put forward a joint initiative to block the far-right party. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)