Key facts
- The EPP won't rule out voting with the far right to advance its policy agenda.
- EPP delegation chief Mika Aaltola stated he is against a firewall to keep out far-right forces.
- Aaltola believes some far-right positions are 'relatively sane'.
- Since the 2024 EU election, the EPP has passed legislation with right-wing and far-right support on migration and green policy.
- Social Democrats and Liberals are pushing for binding, coalition-style commitments among centrist forces.
- Renew Europe Vice Chair Gerben-Jan Gerbrandy argued that centrist unity is essential to tackle major EU challenges.
The center-right European People's Party (EPP) is facing pressure from its centrist partners, the Social Democrats and Liberals, over its willingness to collaborate with far-right parties on policy matters. Mika Aaltola, the EPP's delegation chief, defended the approach, suggesting that some far-right viewpoints are reasonable and that a strict firewall would be counterproductive. He argued that democracy inherently involves diversity and that rigid coalition agreements are unrealistic.
Since the 2024 EU elections, the EPP has increasingly relied on votes from right-wing and far-right groups, particularly on contentious issues like migration and environmental policy, which have created divisions among centrist parties. This strategy has led to calls from Social Democrats and Liberals for stronger, coalition-style commitments among the centrist forces to ensure a unified approach.
René Repasi, representing the German Social Democrats, emphasized the need for compromises across different policy areas to ensure all parties achieve wins, advocating for a binding agreement with broad ownership. However, Aaltola dismissed this as unrealistic, comparing it to "Soviet election result type of politics."
Gerben-Jan Gerbrandy of Renew Europe highlighted the importance of centrist unity in addressing critical challenges such as the war in Ukraine, geopolitics, climate change, and the cost-of-living crisis. He warned that the debate over cooperating with the far right distracts from these pressing issues and weakens the Parliament's leverage in negotiations with EU governments. Gerbrandy expressed concern that positions adopted with far-right support might not be taken seriously by the Council, potentially undermining the Parliament's influence.