The conservative leader rules out structured cooperation but signals he won’t block legislation if the far right votes along.
Manfred Weber, the leader of the European People’s Party, will not rule out further votes with far-right parties in the European Parliament.
“What matters to me is that we do not have any structured collaboration with radical right parties in the European Parliament,” the German politician told the Funke Media Group. “But we will not allow ourselves to be stopped by anyone when it comes to halting illegal migration and securing our prosperity.”
Weber’s remarks land amid an intensifying debate in Brussels over whether the long-standing cordon sanitaire around the far right is fraying in practice, even as mainstream parties continue to deny formal cooperation.
That debate was triggered after the EPP broke with its traditional centrist partners and relied on far-right backing to push through rollbacks of EU green rules, including cuts to corporate sustainability and deforestation legislation, a moment far-right lawmakers openly described as a breakthrough.
Far-right groups have since made clear they intend to cash in. Leaders from the Patriots and ECR groups said they are pressing for tougher migration policies, deregulation for industry and the reversal of the EU’s planned 2035 ban on combustion-engine cars, signaling that future votes would come at a political price.
Centrist lawmakers, meanwhile, say they feel boxed in. Socialists, liberals and Greens accuse the EPP of leaning right when convenient, while insisting the old governing coalition still exists on paper — a dynamic one senior lawmaker described as an “abusive marriage.”
Weber has rejected claims that the EPP is dismantling its refusal of cooperating with the far right. “The firewall stands. We know who our enemies are,” he said.
He insisted that any organized cooperation would have to meet strict conditions, naming three red lines: being “pro-Europe, pro-Ukraine and pro-rule of law.” Far-right parties failing those tests, he said, could not be partners.
Pressed on whether the EPP would actively seek far-right votes to overturn the phase-out of combustion-engine cars, Weber sought to redirect attention to the political center. His “invitation,” he said, was aimed at centrist forces, thanking Social Democrats for “very positive first signals.”