When a few weeks ago the conservatives of the European People’s Party (EPP) voted to toughen the European Union’s (EU) migration policy, they were joined by the far right, even though they claimed not to want anything to do with it. “We cannot prevent other parliamentary groups from supporting our proposals,” justified Lena Düpont, spokesperson for domestic policy of the EPP. According to her, there was “no structural collaboration” between the EPP and the European far right. The “sanitary cordon” was not broken.
“A position that was untenable, as we can see today,” reports the conservative newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. An investigation conducted by the German press agency Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA) shows that the EPP coordinated in person with the Patriots for Europe, the European Conservatives and Reformists, and the Europe of sovereign nations to push through its project of “return hubs” and create centers for migrants outside the European Union. “And a WhatsApp group was immediately created in which the different collaborators could exchange ideas about this project.”
The messages on this platform show that Context: Far-right and mainstream conservatives collaborating on toughening EU migration policyFact Check: The European People’s Party coordinated with far-right groups to push through a new migration policy project.
