BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) – The CDU and CSU faction in the European Parliament is cooperating much more closely with the AfD and other right-wing parties than previously known. Research by the German Press Agency shows that the EPP recently worked with the right wing in a chat group and at a personal meeting of MPs on a legislative proposal to tighten migration policy. The project is intended, among other things, to enable the deportation of asylum seekers to so-called “return hubs” in countries outside the EU.
The SPD, the Union’s coalition partner in the federal government, is now sharply criticizing the EPP’s actions. “The statement that there would be no structured cooperation, which has been repeated so far, would be clearly refuted,” said SPD General Secretary Tim Klüssendorf. He spoke of a scandalous event and demanded explanations from EPP parliamentary group leader Manfred Weber (CSU).
The SPD member of the Bundestag Ralf Stegner wrote on Facebook with regard to the chat arrangements: “If this is true, it is a terrible breach of taboo and the resignation of the chairman Manfred Weber from the CSU is mandatory.”
Weber blames the SPD
Weber initially did not comment clearly on the question of whether he knew about the WhatsApp group and the meeting between representatives of his group and right-wing politicians. “As group leader, I set the strategy. But I don’t control the chat groups of employees,” he told “Bild”. He gave the SPD MEPs responsibility for the situation.
“We are enforcing a position here that is also represented by the federal government,” he said, referring to the tightening of migration policy. “It is incomprehensible to me why the European SPD is thwarting this.”
In a “Tagesschau” article, Weber simply said: “We don’t want this cooperation, and we won’t allow the AfD to have access to legislation. But we need a solution to the matter.” It must work that “illegals” are repatriated. Apart from Weber, who is also CSU vice-president, no one from the Union leadership initially commented publicly on the revelations.
René Aust, AfD leader in the EU Parliament, told “Bild”: “Reason is returning to the EU Parliament: cooperation across party lines instead of hiding behind firewalls.”
There was also outrage among the Greens, liberals and the left
MPs from other parties, however, reacted indignantly. The head of the German Greens’ delegation in the European Parliament, Erik Marquardt, told the dpa: “Incorporating right-wing extremists into democratic processes will be the beginning of the end for liberal democracies in Europe.”
FDP MEP Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann criticized the fact that forces that wanted to undermine Europe from within were failing to organize majorities in the democratic center of parliament. Heidi Reichinnek, parliamentary group leader of the Left in the Bundestag, said: “Anyone who joins forces with Nazis knows exactly what they are getting into and knows where it will lead.”
The reason for the excitement is that EPP leader Weber and other Union politicians have always given the impression that there is no direct cooperation with right-wing parties. At the end of last year, he told the newspapers of the Funke media group that it was important to him that there was “no structured cooperation with right-wing radical parties” in the European Parliament. He added: “The firewall is up. We know who our enemies are.” The AfD is an anti-European party.
How the deal came about
The cooperation between the parties came after the legal project on migration was stuck for months because the EPP, Social Democrats and Liberals could not reach an agreement. These three party families actually have a kind of informal coalition that is intended to make cooperation between the EPP and far-right parties unnecessary.
According to the information, after the Social Democrats refused to agree to the concept of “Return Hubs” in its current form, a WhatsApp group was founded in which the EPP presented its proposal to the right-wing factions.
These are the conservative right-wing populist EKR around the MEPs of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, the Patriots for Europe (PfE) with the politicians from the Rassemblement National (RN) party of France’s right-wing populist Marine Le Pen, and the parliamentarians of the Europe of Sovereign Nations (ESN) party family with the AfD MEPs.
Approval for AfD proposal – direct meeting with right-wingers
Group employees responded to the proposal with requests for changes. According to information from the dpa, the EPP also took into account suggestions made by AfD politician Mary Khan’s parliamentary office. One of the EPP’s WhatsApp group says: “We can support that.” The AfD politician herself and the other negotiating politicians from the EKR and PfE said in response to a dpa request that they did not want to comment on internal communications.
At a joint meeting, the four factions finally develop a legislative proposal for a vote in the committee. After the agreement, the WhatsApp group said: “Thank you for this excellent cooperation.” EPP employees react with the emoji for clapping. The proposed law was approved a few days later with the votes of the right wing./tre/DP/zb
