A motion put forward by the new Patriots for Europe group to debate and condemn last weekend’s assassination attempt on former US president Donald Trump has been rejected by a large majority in the European Parliament.
The proposal was rejected with 337 votes against, 119 in favour and 15 abstentions.
Today in the European Parliament the Patriots for Europe (@PatriotsEP) proposed to have a debate on the assassination attempt against former US President Donald Trump (@realDonaldTrump) and the rise of political violence in Europe, but the traditional groups rejected this… pic.twitter.com/3FJzS5YNKX
— Patriots for Europe (@PatriotsEP) July 17, 2024
In the motivation for the proposal, the Patriots for Europe noted there have been assassination attempts against the US presidential candidate Donald Trump and Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico. They say these attempts should not remain without consequences.
“We consider the complicit silence of left-wing political forces and the legitimisation of violent acts against patriotic politicians to be unacceptable. We demand respect for political adversaries in the left’s discourse and expect a fair and balanced treatment from the media.”
The motion also rejects the practice of labelling all political rivals as far-right and threatening them with a ‘cordon sanitaire’, a strategy involving the exclusion of political opponents, preventing them of gaining power or influence.
“This violates the most basic rules of democracy and the rule of law”.
The Patriots say they “condemn all forms of violence against political actors and call on the left-wing, globalist parties to respect the political choice and opinion of all voters and stop demonising parties and politicians who do not sign up to the narratives of the mainstream.”
“Their intolerance lays the ground for politically motivated violence and threatens our democratic institutions.”
We, the #PatriotsforEurope group condemn the assassination attempt on @realDonaldTrump & all forms of political violence. The majority of the @Europarl_EN do not want to.
Their voting behaviour, what we saw yesterday as well with the vote on the VPs, will backfire on them soon.… pic.twitter.com/YRE98A8wyD
— Kinga Gál (@kingagalMEP) July 17, 2024
The recently formed Patriots for Europe group, initiated by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, has taken over the Identity and Democracy (ID) group. This consolidation has elevated it to the third-largest faction in the European Parliament.
Group leaders hoped they would be recognised as a full and equal partner in the hemicycle, but the majority parties in the Parliament have excluded the Patriot Group where they can.
MEPs from the European People’s Party sided with the European Parliament’s hard-left The Left group on July 16, excluding the Patriots for Europe group and Europe of Sovereign Nations group from receiving any of the body’s 14 vice presidents.
MEPs from the European People’s Party have sided with the European Parliament’s Left parties in excluding the Patriots for Europe and Europe of Sovereign Nations groups from receiving any of the body’s 14 vice presidents. https://t.co/uuGnf2irWt
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) July 17, 2024
There has been a surge in political violence in 2024.
In Germany, numerous Alternative für Deutschland (AfD)-activists and candidates have been assaulted. Politicians from the Greens and the Socialists also suffered serious attacks.
Meanwhile, in France, National Rally (RN) candidates were the primary targets of violence, though some supporters of Macron’s party also fell victim to attacks.
The European Parliament regularly expresses its position on various issues through resolutions.
It has condemned human rights violations, breaches of international law, actions that go against EU values or interests and serious political crises or conflicts.
Resolutions are non-binding and serve more as official statements of the Parliament’s position rather than direct policy actions.
On Wednesday, July 17, the newly-elected European Parliament reconfirmed its view that the EU must continue to support Kyiv for as long as it takes until victory, despite not having much power to change things at the frontline. The assembly has also condemned Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s recent visit to Moscow.
In February, the EP condemned Russian efforts to undermine European democracy, saying that MEPs are worried “about Russia providing narratives to far-right parties”.
In 2022, the European Parliament condemned the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. This ruling shifted abortion regulation from federal to state level in the United States.
