The EPP breaks the cordon sanitaire

Is this the end of the cordon sanitaire in the European Parliament? On 13 November, the Parliament voted in favour of a law that undermines certain founding principles of the Green Deal, thanks to the votes of the European People's Party (EPP, right-wing) and the far-right European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR, which includes Marion Maréchal's Identity–Liberties party, among others) and Patriots for Europe (home to Jordan Bardella’s National Rally). This unprecedented alliance, born from the failure of negotiations between the EPP with other more centrist political groups, signals a change of course.

We have already seen environmental legislation attacked or watered down by the right in the European Parliament. But this vote in favour of the first “Omnibus” package confirms what the results of the last European elections, marked by a breakthrough for the far right, suggested: the EPP can now choose between its traditional centrist majority and new allies to its right, previously considered unfit company (and too lacking in influence).

While the vote on 13 November provoked outrage among the left wing of the European Parliament, it also risks toppling the delicate balancing act performed by the EPP and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who hails from its ranks. In July 2024, Von der Leyen promised the centrists of the Renew group that she would not establish any “structural cooperation” with the ECR in order to secure her second term.