Euro elections|“I find Meloni’s courtship to join the EPP really unfortunate,” says Sirpa Pietikäinen, MEP of the coalition.
MEP Sirpa Pietikäinen (kok) does not support the cooperation between the European Parliament’s center-right EPP and the conservative ECR.
Chairman of the coalition, prime minister Petteri Orpo (kok), on the other hand, has not ruled out cooperation with ECR.
Orpo has praised the far-right Italian prime minister on several occasions Giorgia Melonia. The Italian brothers, led by Meloni, have consistently voted in the European Parliament against the disciplinary measures of Hungary and Poland.
In moderation the right-wing EPP’s possible cooperation with Meloni has become a big issue in the European elections. Cooperation could change the direction of the EU significantly to a more correct and conservative one.
The EPP is the largest political group in the European Parliament. It also includes the coalition.
For now, ECR is clearly a smaller and fragmented group. It includes, among others, the Basic Finns, the Italian brothers and the Polish Law and Justice party, which has been accused of undermining the rule of law.
Until now, the moderate right-wing EPP has opposed cooperation with ECR and cooperated with social democrats, centrists, liberals and greens. The left-wing parties criticized the EPP for not ruling out cooperation with Melon.
From Pietikäinen, who served as a member of the European Parliament until 2008, says that he works strongly for the center-right and the Social Democrats to continue cooperating after the European elections.
“It guarantees meandering, but in the same direction and predictable development for Europe. This cooperation is able to solve the problems ahead”, says Pietikäinen.
According to him, it will only become clear after the election results whether the cooperation needs to be supplemented.
From Pietäkää, European conservatives should be able to commit to being on the side of Europe and the Green Development program. In addition, they should support the reform of the EU’s decision-making system and strongly commit to the Charter of Fundamental Rights and the Treaties.
“I don’t see how they [konservatiivit] they could do this,” he says.
“In short: I’m not in favor of cooperation.”
FROM PIETIKÄINE the future depends a lot on what kind of representatives will be in the ECR. One or two slightly more moderate groups can be found in his group.
“I find Meloni’s courtship to join the EPP really unfortunate. In that situation, we would already be quite far from what is meant by moderate center-right in Europe,” he says.
“The EPP has never been a conservative centre-right, but a moderate centre-right.”
Pietikäinen takes the example of Poland.
“There has been a big fight there specifically between the parties belonging to EPP and ECR. It would be very crazy for us to ally and cooperate with the very party whose values we have opposed in Poland. That is, a party that opposes a free press, pluralism and women’s right to abortion.”
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“The EPP has never been a conservative centre-right.”
HS also asked the coalition’s two other MEPs about the relationship with ECR.
Petteri Sarvamaa said that he will not answer the question because he is just starting as Finland’s representative at the EU Court of Auditors and is therefore committed to acting outside of party politics.
Henna Virkkunen again did not respond to HS’s call request by the early afternoon.
Correction May 30, 2024 at 3:50 p.m.: The EPP group of the European Parliament was previously referred to in the article with the incorrect abbreviation EEP. Corrected spelling.
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