Two far-right groups cordoned off from power roles in the European Parliament

The two new far-right groups failed to clinch any of the fourteen vice-president positions.

Transcript

00:00The far-right candidates bidding to become vice-president of the European Parliament

00:08were voted down on Tuesday as part of centrist parties coordinated efforts to build a firewall

00:13against the radical right-wing.

00:16While the European conservatives and reformists did manage to secure two vice-presidents,

00:21the two newly formed radical right-wing groupings were blocked.

00:28It means neither Patriots for Europe nor the Europe of Sovereign Nations will be represented

00:32in the European Parliament's bureau.

00:38Parties and political groups that basically want to destroy this parliament, that want

00:42to weaken the European Union and that ran on platforms abolishing the EU, leaving the

00:48EU, whatever, should not hold responsibility in the European Union, should not hold responsibility

00:55here in the European Parliament.

00:57Well, if your political goal is to destroy this parliament, you should not be put in

01:02charge of managing this parliament and that's the reason why we apply the cordon sanitaire.

01:08However, the far-right consider the cordon sanitaire strategy to be a breach of democracy.

01:14If the group of patriots is the third largest group in the European Parliament, I didn't

01:21agree with it, but the voters decided it, so going against the will of the Europeans,

01:27a will that has been expressed democratically by millions of European voters, I think represents

01:32a very big assumption of responsibility, as well as a lack of respect.

01:38With 14 vice-presidents up for grabs, 11 were clinched in a first round of voting, 5 were

01:44given to the Socialists and Democrats, 3 to the European People's Party, 2 to Renew Europe

01:50and 1 to the Greens.