The sanctions affect, among others, the seven Hungarian EU politicians from the dissenting Tisza party and the two Dutch MEPs from the BBB farmers' party. During the debate on the Mercosur trade agreement last week, they were also not allocated any EPP speaking time.
The EPP dissidents were visibly present and gave speeches at the large farmers' demonstration in front of the European Parliament building, but were not allowed to express this in the parliamentary session in Strasbourg.
The dissidents not only supported the farmers' protest against the Mercosur agreement but also voted in favor of a proposal from far-right factions to dismiss the European Commission. That motion of no confidence did not gain a majority but did lead to intervention within the EPP group. Weber had explicitly stated that this time the EPP would not vote along with the far right.
In previous votes, dissatisfied EPP politicians had already on some occasions helped far-right and conservative faction proposals to gain a majority, which led social democrats and liberals to accuse group leader Weber of governing 'over to the right' with his EPP members.
The sanctions apply for a period of six months. During that time, the sanctioned MEPs are not allowed to speak on behalf of their EPP group in European Parliament meetings. They are also excluded from leading roles in new legislative files.
The measures are made possible by new internal rules within the EPP. The EPP is the largest group in the European Parliament and consists of much more than just Christian democratic groups. The imposed sanctions affect several parliamentarians from various EU countries.
At the same time, the Mercosur trade agreement still simmers in the background. This dossier has long caused tensions between economic trade goals and concerns from the agricultural sector. The Christian democratic faction is considered a pillar of support for the powerful agricultural lobby in Brussels but had to accept that their party colleague Commission President Von der Leyen insists on the Mercosur agreement.
The European Commissioners’ plans for a new multiannual financial framework and new agricultural policy are also still far from agreeable for many EPP members. Brussels wants to cut tens of billions in agricultural subsidies in the 2028–2035 period and intends to merge some agricultural subsidy funds with other financial streams.