A Swedish Member of the European Parliament has escalated a parliamentary dispute into a police complaint, accusing a Danish colleague of racist hate speech after right-wing MEPs chanted “send them back” during a vote on tougher EU deportation rules.
The incident occurred on June 17 following passage of the Return Regulation, the bloc’s toughest migration reform in years, aimed at increasing removals of irregular migrants.
Right-wing MEPs celebrated with chants of “send them back”, prompting counter-chants of “shame on you” from left-wing members. The measure passed after the centre-right European People’s Party (EPP) sided with the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) and other right-wing groups, breaking the centrist coalition that had shaped EU migration policy for years.
Swedish Renew MEP Abir Al-Sahlani, who represents the Centre Party (Centerpartiet) and was born in Basra, Iraq, condemned the scenes. Al-Sahlani said she had “never felt as unsafe” in Parliament.
“The shouting of the far right was not against a political opponent, it was ‘send them back’. It was about ordinary people who did no other ‘crime’ than looking for a better life in Europe”, she said after the vote.
In response, Danish MEP Kristoffer Storm, of the Denmark Democrats and the ECR group, said online that she “should go home”.
Al-Sahlani subsequently filed a police complaint in Sweden alleging racist and hateful speech, UK newspaper The Guardian reported. The complaint focuses solely on Storm; Al-Sahlani has said Swedish police were unsure how to handle a separate “cry more” post by a Finnish MEP.
She told the newspaper, “I don’t know if I am disappointed or sad.”
“I feel sadness for European democracy, like, really, this is the level of our politicians? But also disappointed because, really, c’mon guys. I’m your colleague.”
Storm rejected the accusations, stating his remark was “neither intended to be racist nor can it reasonably be characterised as racist”.
He clarified that telling Al-Sahlani she “should go home” referred to her leaving the chamber to reflect on the democratic vote, rather than any reference to her ethnic background or country of birth. Al-Sahlani rejected that explanation, telling Politico the remark amounted to “racial exclusion”.
Storm added that he takes “defamatory” racism allegations seriously.
Renew Europe group leader Valérie Hayer backed Al-Sahlani, describing Storm’s comment, and a related “cry more” post by Finnish MEP Sebastian Tynkkynen, of the Finns Party, as racist and a “disgrace”.
Hayer wrote to European Parliament President Roberta Metsola calling for disciplinary action and stating that “racism has no place in our institutions”. Both Storm and Tynkkynen sit with the ECR group.
Metsola’s office said there was zero tolerance for actions that undermined the respect of MEPs or the dignity of the institution. The parliament’s services were looking into what had happened and called the incident “regrettable”.
On July 6, Metsola addressed parliament, opening the July plenary session, telling lawmakers the “aggressive chanting, jeering, finger-pointing and filming of members that took place” was not acceptable.
“There is a line, and that was crossed last plenary,” she said, adding that her office would “take appropriate action to ensure that the scenes we witnessed last month” would never happen again.
Here we go! ✈️👋 https://t.co/rMB2MJ65c2
— Kristoffer Storm (@KristofferStorm) June 17, 2026
