Jens Spahn, the head of the Union faction in the European Parliament, has demanded that consequences be taken after reports surfaced that representatives of the conservative European People’s Party (EVP) had been exchanging messages with right‑wing parties in Brussels. The CDU and CSU are also part of the EVP family. In an interview on the German television programme ”Blume & Pfeffer”, Spahn said that a Spanish EVP employee appeared to be involved in the chat group. “This must have consequences” he said, adding that he was willing to discuss what those consequences might be, particularly “how things will proceed”.
At the same time Spahn denied accusations of any collaboration with the AfD. “The key point is that what the AfD wants, does, and does in the Brussels Parliament interests no one. It is not relevant” he said. He insisted that a chat group like that does not constitute a form of cooperation. Instead, he argued that the real issue is the lack of a consensus in the European Parliament with the SPD and the Greens. “The SPD EU lawmakers are working in Brussels against what the joint German government from Berlin wants and against what the Commission proposes” Spahn explained. He added that if majorities in the Parliament exist “without the radical right-that is important-it is a normal vote in the European Parliament”.
Gordon Schnieder, the CDU’s top candidate for the state election in Rhineland‑Palatinate, has called on the EVP faction to draw up consequences from the chat‑group dealings with the AfD. “The proceedings must be fully investigated and consequences must follow” Schnieder told the press. “This is now the task of the EVP faction in the European Parliament”. He stressed that CDU/CSU MPs and their staff are not involved in these matters.
Schnieder also made it clear to the state CDU that there is no cooperation with the AfD. “Anyone who participates in such chat groups or thinks they must join forces with the AfD has no place in our ranks. If that happens, the person is immediately removed” he said.
The background to these statements is a recent investigative report that found the EVP faction-of which the German Union politicians are members-has been working together with the right‑wing fringe of the European Parliament in a chat group and at a personal meeting on a proposed amendment to tighten migration policy.
