EPP and far right MEPs call to build a wall at the EU border, stoking controversy

A coalition of right-wing lawmakers in the European Parliament has called for the European Union to construct physical barriers at its border as it discusses plans for next year's budget, provoking a backlash from the chamber's centrists and socialists.

On Wednesday, the centre-right European People’s Party (EPP) supported the request tabled by lawmakers Alexander Jungbluth (Germany) and Stanisław Tyszka (Poland), both from the Europe of Sovereign Nations (ESN) group.

"The European Parliament demands appropriate funding for external physical barriers at the Union border," reads their amendment, included in a resolution attached to the European Parliament's position on the EU budget for 2025.

The amendment gained support from 329 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs), including all the far-right groups: Patriots for Europe, the European Conservatives and Reformists, and ESN. Most members of the EPP, the largest group in the Parliament, backed it: only 15 voted against it, and four abstained.

The resolution as a whole was eventually voted down by the Chamber, but the attempt sparked outrage among the other groups in the majority coalition that support European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who accused the conservatives of seeking alternative majorities.

"EPP did not respect the deal and voted for several amendments with the far right", said Romanian socialist Victor Negrescu, who is also the lead MEP for the budget file.

He told reporters in Strasbourg that a resolution attached to the EP's position is not necessary to hold negotiations with the Council, which represents EU member states; the two institutions are set to reach an agreement on how EU money should be spent next year by 18 November.

Strong criticism of the EPP's vote with the far-right groups also came from centrists in Renew Europe. "Something very serious happened. This means that the EPP abandons the solid majority built to back Ursula von der Leyen as Commission president," said Fabienne Keller (France), who was one of the rapporteurs for the Asylum Procedure Regulation (APR), one of the key files of the Pact on Migration and Asylum agreed last spring.

The EPP did not immediately respond to Euronews' request for comment, but its press release celebrates the fact that the Parliament voted to increase funding for the Border Management and Visa Instrument.