Key facts
- ECR Vice Chair Charlie Weimers is gathering signatures to force a vote on investigating the European Left Alliance (ELA).
- The vote, if successful, could lead to the deregistration and loss of EU funding for the ELA.
- ELA's French member, La France Insoumise (LFI), is accused of organizing school protests that turned violent.
- Weimers needs 180 signatures from at least three political groups by October 16.
- ELA Co-President Catarina Martins stated that supporting young people asking for better education is not a breach of EU values.
The European Left Alliance (ELA) could face a vote in the European Parliament this month that could lead to its deregistration and loss of EU funding, effectively a ban. The push is being led by Charlie Weimers, vice chair of the right-wing European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group, who began gathering signatures on Friday.
Weimers needs 180 signatures from at least three political groups by October 16 to force a vote in the plenary session on October 19. The ECR's action stems from accusations that ELA's French member, La France Insoumise (LFI), organized school protests, some of which turned violent. The office of French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has accused LFI of this role.
However, the ELA has refuted these claims. ELA Co-President Catarina Martins stated, “Standing with young people asking for better education is not a breach of EU values.” She further criticized the ECR, suggesting they are using the procedure to divert attention from investigations into their own members for breaching EU values.
In France, Les Républicains leader and presidential candidate Bruno Retailleau has also raised the question of banning LFI, referring to the party as “fascinated by violence” in the context of recent riots. For the motion to proceed, it would require the support of the center-right European People’s Party (EPP) in the plenary session.