Manfred Weber, the chairman of the EVP group in the European Parliament and a member of the CSU party, defended his parliamentary group’s vote alongside far-right factions. In an op-ed for “Welt am Sonntag” Weber stated, “We stand at the forefront in the fight against any form of extremism”. He added that, for this reason, “this [the far-right influence] has had no influence on our legislative texts or personnel decisions in the European Parliament”.
Four years ago, he was the first party chairman to define the criteria he believed should constitute a ‘firewall’: “for the rule of law, for Ukraine, for Europe”. Weber asserted that the EVP would never form partnerships with extremists who question these principles. “We do not need tutorials on combating radicalism” he claimed. He also suggested that it would be beneficial if the Social Democrats and the Greens on the left similarly fought against left-wing radicalism.
The CDU politician characterized the firewall as a political mandate, not a way to isolate themselves from unfavorable election results. “For the left, this firewall means continuing their flawed policies. For us in the EVP, the mandate of the voter remains central; we are determined to deliver” he argued. “We need to move away from party tactics and focus on the substance”.
