The leader of the European Parliament’s dominant political group has denounced some far-right parties in Europe as “neo-Nazis” and “enemies” and insisted that cooperation with French National Rally leader Marine Le Pen is “impossible”.

European People’s Party (EPP) president Manfred Weber stressed his group’s resolve to only work with those that share its values on key issues.

He emphasised his party’s “key conditions” for its partners in the European Parliament – that they be “pro-Europe, pro-Ukraine... and pro-rule-of-law”.

“These are the basic issues for us, and that’s why, for us, it’s impossible to work together with [Marine] Le Pen. For us, it’s impossible to work with FPÖ [Freedom Party of Austria] or the AfD [Alternative for Germany]; they are neo-Nazis,” he said.

“They are not only competitors; they are enemies, and we will fight against them because we are the party of Europe.”

Weber was speaking to Times of Malta while visiting Malta for an EPP political assembly hosted by the Nationalist Party, his group’s national party in Malta.

Accusing Le Pen of “putting European integration into question”, Weber stressed there would never be any kind of compromise with the French far-right leader while promising his party would be “strong” on its principles.

But, in recent months, those principles have been called into question by those who accuse the EPP of dealing with far-right parties when it suits them.

In October, EPP MEPs voted with the right-wing European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) and far-right parties Patriots for Europe (PfE) and Europe of Sovereign Nations (ESN) to adopt a non-binding resolution backing Venezuelan Opposition Leader Edmundo González – a vote that received no left-wing support.

They are not only competitors; they are enemies, and we will fight against them because we are the party of Europe

And in November, amendments to an EU deforestation law slammed by critics as anti-green and tabled by the EPP were backed by MEPs from the same parties.

Pressed on how his party could appear to work with PfE – which includes MEPs from Le Pen’s National Rally and Victor Orbán’s Fidesz – while disavowing cooperation with the far-right, Weber stressed there was no official collaboration while seeming to put the voting down to individual choice.

“There is no cooperation with the Patriots for Europe on a European level; we don’t have structured cooperation,” he said, adding that left-wing parties had also formed majorities with far-right MEPs on some amendments.

“They [PfE members] are elected, they have their place there, their voting right as individual MEPs, but we made sure that they have no impact in the leadership of Europe.”

‘Russian empire to Portugal’

Turning to geo-politics, the EPP leader – who has been a vocal critic of Russia’s war in Ukraine and its president Vladimir Putin – said the conflict was “not only a territorial war... it is the borderline between the free world and the dictatorship world”.

Stressing that more than 100,000 young Russian soldiers have died in the conflict, Weber said Putin does not care at all about his own citizens, while declaring his support for Ukraine to be “without condition”.

New Ukrainian recruits improve their tactical skills at a training field in the Kharkiv region in November. Photo: SERGEY BOBOK / AFP.

Pointing to subversive tactics used by Russia to influence politics in Moldova, Georgia and Slovakia – “where fake news has already changed government; now we have a pro-Russian government” – Weber said the “bigger target for him [Putin] is that he wins over Europe”.

“That sounds a little bit ridiculous, but the young Russian soldiers get a small book before they go into the war zone, and there it is described that they fight for a Eurasian Union from Lisbon to Vladivostok, governed by Moscow,” he said.

“For us, that sounds crazy, but that’s the nature of this ambitious dictatorship... He [Putin] wants to think in an imperialistic way, which we thought was over after the Second World War. That was our hope... [but] he is again pushing us into the old world.”

‘Donald Trump is right’

Calling for Europe to strengthen its defence capabilities, Weber – who has voiced his support for a European nuclear deterrent and suggested placing missile defences in Cyprus and Poland – said at present the continent was not capable to defend itself.

“We still need the Americans to do the job. And frankly speaking, Donald Trump is right when he says, ‘why should 330 million Americans defend 414 million Europeans?’”

Attributing Trump’s success in the recent US elections to his appeal to middle-class voters on inflation – “that’s a lesson also for me as a party leader” – Weber said it was important to understand the Republican leader’s success rather than just commenting on his populist appeal.

President-elect Donald Trump, pictured on the campaign trail ealier this year, has questioned why the US should continue to pay for Europe's defence. Photo: Shutterstock.com.

But with Trump no stranger to controversy, how does the EPP leader respond to controversial statements from the US president-elect that undocumented migrants were “poisoning the blood” of America?

“It’s unacceptable from a European point of view,” said Weber. “But the Americans have their way of doing things. I think we should not lecture them, we should not judge them.”

Calling the next EP cycle “historic” with the “populist wave in mind”, however, he said the EPP felt “huge responsibility” to deliver on issues important to voters.

“But we want to govern Europe from the centre. And the people know it doesn’t make sense to vote for populists, because the centre-right parties, the Conservative parties, are delivering.”

Grech’s leadership, Metsola’s future

Reiterating his party would only work with pro-rule-of-law parties, Weber said in Malta PN leader Bernard Grech was “really the person who is putting the rule-of-law question on the table”.

Bernard Grech lashed out at Labour's record in his replica Budget speech earlier this month. Photo: Jonathan Borg.

But while the Nationalists made significant gains in this year’s MEP and local council elections, how does he respond to doubts about Grech, who has continued to trail Prime Minister Robert Abela in recent trust polls?

“I see differently. I see Bernard acting with strong leadership... he was really insisting on putting questions of living conditions, of quality of life on the agenda today in our political assembly,” he said.

“He knows what is at stake...  That’s why we want to support Bernard in his efforts... and to show that the [Nationalist] party here is not only a Maltese party; it’s part of the biggest family in Europe governing Europe.

”The Nationalist Party has seen its presence on the European stage boosted in recent years with the appointment of PN MEP Roberta Metsola to the post of European Parliament president.

I see Bernard [Grech] acting with strong leadership

Last summer, Metsola secured her second term of two-and-a-half years – the traditional length for those occupying the post, which typically sees two presidents each five-year EP cycle.

European There has been speculation that Parliament president Roberta Metsola, pictured speaking in Brussels earlier this month, might return to Malta as PN leader. Photo: NICOLAS TUCAT / AFP.

Asked if he thought Metsola might seek a third term in office following her re-election to the post earlier this year, the EPP president said the prospect was “too early to assess”.

Addressing speculation she might return to Malta to lead the Nationalist Party in the future, Weber said it was “not an issue”, instead saying the PN enjoyed “two strong leaders” in Grech and Metsola.

‘Good to see where Muscat is today’ Last year, Weber described the lack of justice for those who ordered the assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia as a “symbol of Malta’s rule-of-law failings”, and in 2021 said “evidence still points to the highest levels of government”.

Asked if he still held the same assessment of the country, the EPP leader said that while there had been developments, there were still questions that needed to be answered.

“I see the condition Joseph Muscat is in today, and that is good,” he said in seeming reference to the former prime minister facing corruption charges in relation to the Vitals deal.

“But I have to say this took a very long time... so that’s why the questions are still there.”

Stressing he wanted to avoid using rule-of-law issues “for party political interests”, however – while avoiding direct criticism of Abela – Weber said a recent European Commission report highlighting a lack of action on the issue showed there was still a lot to do in Malta.