EU Socialists try corner EPP into vowing far-right isolation

EU Socialists are trying to pressure the centre-right European People’s Party (EPP) into signing a declaration ruling out any collaboration with the far-right after the centre-right’s ambiguity on possible coalitions after June’s EU elections and existing alliances with the far-right at the national level. 

Following a violent attack against German Socialist MEP Matthias Ecke on 4 May, the Socialists group in the European Parliament (S&D) drafted a declaration condemning recent cases of violent acts against politicians, with the intention for it to be signed by the liberals (Renew), Greens, the Left, and the centre-right EPP.

However, the draft declaration written by S&D President Iratxe García’s cabinet, seen by Euractiv, goes a step further, with any undersigning committing not to ally with the “far-right or radical parties.”

“For our political families, there is no ambiguity: We will never cooperate nor form a coalition with the far right and radical parties at any level,” the draft reads. 

The EPP is already governing at the national level in alliance with far-right parties in Italy, Finland, Sweden, and in Spain at the regional level. 

The Socialists’ move is an attempt to corner the EPP into committing in writing to keep the hard-right ECR group at bay, as the party and its lead candidate, current Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, have been so far ambiguous about future alliances at the EU level. 

EPP’s reaction

Despite being open to signing the declaration, the Socialists’ tactic has caused discomfort within the centre-right force. 

“Since this is an initiative that is intended to show the unity of the parties and is hopefully not motivated by the election campaign, we have made some changes. We ask for short-term feedback as to whether a real joint text is desired,” says an email from EPP’s president, Manfred Weber, in response to the declaration proposal. 

In comments to Politico on Tuesday morning, S&D’s President Iratxe García gave the EPP until midday to decide whether to sign the declaration. 

“That’s not the way politics is done here,” an EPP insider said, arguing the centre-right group was not given previous notice or time to formulate a position, having learnt about the declaration first from media reports on Tuesday. 

By 20:00, the document was still under negotiation between all parties, and it seems there will be no deal unless the declaration is comprehensively reshaped to better fit the EPP’s position.

The initial drafts had the Socialists’ stamp, some of which were copy-pasted from a declaration signed by national Socialist party leaders on Saturday (4 May).

Instead, EPP’s chief Weber outlined the direction he sought to take for the joint declaration in an email to the leaders of the other political groups. 

“The latest news about attacks on democratic candidates for the European elections is shocking. Violence must never be or become a means of politics. We are united as centrist parties,” he said. 

On alliances with far-right and radical parties, though, Weber stuck to the general party line without wanting to go into specifics. 

“Our principles are clear: We only cooperate with parties that are pro-European, pro-Ukrainian and pro-rule of law,” he wrote, repeating what himself and von der Leyen have said on several occasions while avoiding to mark distance from hard-right ECR.

[Edited by Alice Taylor]

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