Angel Dzhambazki, MEP Bulgarian MEMBER member of the EUROSCEPTIC group ECR, was filmed the stretched arm in the hemicycle. “Unacceptable”, denounces the President of the Parliament, which considers possible sanctions.
Le Monde with AFP
His gesture is visible on The video of the debate available on The European Parliament website . After intervening during a debate on the rule of law in Poland and Hungary, Angel Dzhambazki, the European Conservative and European Reforms (ECR), rises the steps leading to the exit of the hemicycle, turns around And tends his right arm before him a few seconds before starting.
“We will never allow you to tell us what we must say and what we need to do. Long live Bulgaria, Hungary, Orban, Fidesz and the Nation States”, had previously declared the elected Bulgarian nationalist party VMRO at the hemicycle desk. He also qualified on Twitter “abomination” the decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union (EU) which validated on Wednesday a mechanism, contested by Warsaw and Budapest, allowing to deprive European funds a country where are noted violations of the rule of law.
“Scandalous and unworthy”
“A fascist salute in the European Parliament is unacceptable,” Tweeted the president of the institution, Maltese Roberta Metsola (EPP, Right). “It offers me and it offends everyone in Europe (…) This gesture is part of the darkest chapter in our history and must stay there.”
The Vice-President of the European Parliament, the Italian Pina Pitcho, who directed the debate at the time of the facts, had indicated earlier that the institution would check with the aid of the cameras “if there was salvation fascist or not “and that if it were the case, sanctions would be taken.
Scandalous and unworthy. Full expensive support @sandrogozi 🇪🇺 https://t.co/ymypt3bz0f
The French Secretary of State for European Affairs, Clément Beaune, who was present in the debate in the framework of the French Presidency of the EU, qualified on Twitter the gesture of “scandalous and unworthy”. The French delegation of the Centrist Group Renew Europe asked Roberta Metsola “to act”.
The rules of procedure of the European Parliament specifies that MPs “refrain from any displaced behavior” and “any offensive about”. In the event of non-compliance with these rules, the penalty may include participation in parliamentary activities or compensation.