Overview
- At anniversary events, Manfred Weber reiterated there is no structured cooperation with the AfD and called the party “absolutely toxic.”
- Following reports of staff-level coordination on a returns draft, EPP leadership instructed aides to shut down chat groups with far-right actors, with no immediate personnel sanctions reported.
- Rapporteur François-Xavier Bellamy said he worked with all negotiators, including an AfD member, on the file and noted the WhatsApp group existed for about 48 hours.
- SPD parliamentary manager Dirk Wiese accused Weber of keeping pacts with European right-wing forces open and urged CDU chief Friedrich Merz and CSU’s Markus Söder to intervene.
- The EPP remains split between a German-led camp favoring centrist deals and a Spanish-led wing open to right-leaning majorities, and Union leaders have pressed Weber to ensure any cooperation with radicals stops.