Parlamentarii fac presiuni pentru anchetarea unui partid de extremă dreaptă din UE, având în vedere că este în joc finanțarea acestuia
Legiuitorii UE fac presiuni pentru o anchetă privind suspiciunile că familia politică europeană a partidului german de extremă dreapta AfD ar fi încălcat valorile Uniunii — o măsură care ar putea duce la retragerea finanțării acestuia, potrivit unor documente consultate luni de AFP.
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More than 200 parliamentarians have signed a motion urging an oversight authority to assess whether the Europe of Sovereign Nations (ESN) complies with rules demanding EU political groups respect the 27-nation union's core principles.
"Our position is clear: those who break the rules should not also be rewarded with millions in public funds," said Daniel Freund, a German lawmaker who is among the promoters of the initiative.
The hardline nationalist, anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany party is the dominant force within the ESN, which also counts France's Reconquete and Italy's upstart Futuro Nazionale within its ranks.
Under rules passed last year EU parties need to abide by values including respect for human rights, minorities, freedom, democracy, equality, and the rule of law.
But in a 250-page report submitted to the top European institutions in May and also seen by AFP, the EU watchdog responsible for ensuring compliance listed an array of possible ESN breaches.
These include a video by a Slovak lawmaker describing a Sudanese migrant as a "disgusting, filthy psychopath" and a press release from a Bulgarian party equating homosexuality with paedophilia.
Freund said the European Parliament could now vote next week to instruct the watchdog the Authority for European Political Parties, to initiate proceedings against the ESN, which could lead to it losing EU funding.
The vote is likely to pass, considering the call has already been signed by more than 200 of the EU's 720 lawmakers and enjoys support among most of its parliamentary groups.
The procedure would target the ESN party, not its parliamentary group by the same name, meaning sanctions would affect funding for party activities such as election campaigns and congresses -- currently totalling almost two million euros ($2.3 million) -- and not parliamentary work.
The ESN did not immediately reply to a request for comment but has previously dismissed the watchdog's report as politically motivated.