Ursula von der Leyen rules out working with ‘Putin’s friends’ in next EU Parliament
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European Union Commission president Ursula von der Leyen posing for a wefie taken by a woman at Cafe Kyiv in Berlin on Feb 19.
PHOTO: REUTERS
BRUSSELS – European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen on Feb 21 ruled out working with Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s “friends” in the next European Union Parliament, two days after announcing she is seeking a second term.
As the chosen candidate of the centre-right European People’s Party (EPP), Dr von der Leyen was asked whether she would cooperate with a future majority that included the right-wing European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR).
“Those who are defending our values against Putin’s friends, these are the ones with which I want to work,” she told reporters in Brussels, at a press conference with the EPP’s leader, Mr Manfred Weber.
While noting that the EU’s June elections would change the make-up of groups in Parliament, Dr von der Leyen drew a red line regarding parties considered pro-Russian.
“It’s important that I work with pro-European, pro-Nato, pro-Ukrainian, clearly supporters of our democratic values, groups,” she replied.
“Putin’s friends: impossible.”
Polls suggest far-right parties will make big inroads when the 27-nation EU votes from June 6 to 9, rolling back left and centre-left parties in Parliament.
The elections will kick off a reshuffle of the EU’s top jobs that will set the direction for the bloc of 450 million people over the next five years.
In the current legislature, the EPP, the largest group in terms of seat numbers, has joined forces with the centre-left Socialists and Democrats, and the centrist Renew Europe – the second- and third-largest groups respectively.
One of the Parliament’s two hard-right blocs, Identity and Democracy, includes a number of parties considered Russia-friendly, such as Ms Marine Le Pen’s National Rally in France, or the League of Mr Matteo Salvini in Italy.
The second right-wing group, the ECR, has until now taken an anti-Moscow line, but that could soften if the Fidesz party of Hungary’s Russia-friendly leader Viktor Orban joins it after the elections – as it is seeking to do. AFP
