Rights in the European Parliament | Spinelli's Brussels in the stranglehold of the right

Photo: dpa/Philipp von Ditfurth Since 2008 there has been a direct connection between Altiero Spinelli and Willy Brandt in the Brussels European Parliament - thanks to Konrad Adenauer. What sounds like the result of a failed history exam describes the architecture of the European Parliament in Brussels: The glass Konrad Adenauer Bridge spans the Esplanade Solidarność and directly connects the Altiero Spinelli building, named after the anti-fascist pioneer, with the western buildings.

Legends say that the Manifesto di Ventotene was smuggled from the Isolated Island in 1941 in the belly of a roasted chicken. If one were to remain in this language, what is happening today inside the glass colossus named after Spinelli would be difficult to digest for the pioneer of European federalism. The building is teeming with politicians who represent exactly the ideas that Spinelli fought from prison: an aggressive and uninhibited capitalism that forces itself into the uniform of authoritarian nationalism is on the rise - also in Brussels.

This becomes clear during a tour of the part of the parliament building named after Spinelli. More and more often you see young men with military haircuts and an evil look walking across the wide corridors. When Spinelli was last elected to parliament in 1984, the European Right group had just 16 members. For comparison: the communists alone had 41 representatives at the time - including Spinelli. Today the signs have reversed. The left-wing faction The Left with its 45 members is opposed by three factions of right-wing populists, national conservatives and right-wing extremists with almost 200 members. And the EPP faction, in which the CDU and CSU set the tone, is increasingly joining forces with these southpaws.

Spinelli's native Italy is no exception. Today, 32 of the 76 Italian MPs alone sit in the three groups to the right of the EPP. Figures like the right-wing extremist Roberto Vannacci, a former general who flirts with nationalist and neo-fascist positions, bring ethnic thinking into parliament. The axis between big business and the right is there. Anyone who follows today's debates in the European Parliament is confronted with two irreconcilable camps. On the one hand, the conservative and extreme right; on the other side, the left as the last truly uncompromising anti-fascist force.

Remember election night in June 2024. EPP leader Manfred Weber (CSU) appeared in front of the cameras in the building next door and conjured up a “bulwark against left- and right-wing extremists.” But this bulwark stands rock solid on the left, while the firewall on the right has long since been torn down. The European People's Party acts as the controlling force of a reactionary international. Since the extreme right now holds over a quarter of the mandates, the conservative camp is blatantly using the nationalist forces to gain a majority in order to erase the last remnants of progressive EU policy. The EPP obviously values ​​lobbying for industry and banks more than democracy, otherwise it would not make a deal with the anti-democrats.

Under the pretext of “de-bureaucratization” and locational competition, the EPP systematically coordinates with neo-fascists, the AfD and right-wing populist factions. The EPP made an agreement with the entire right-wing bloc on the omnibus simplification package to scrap environmental regulations. Even parts of the Liberals and Social Democrats broke through the firewall. The standards for the supply chain law were also weakened. Research later showed that there had already been secret agreements between the EPP and right-wing MPs in advance.

In March 2026, the Interior Committee, with the votes of the right, approved the establishment of “return hubs” – internment camps in third countries outside the EU. After the vote, right-wing MPs cheered and shouted “send them back” through the plenary hall. While the representatives of the middle class looked down in embarrassment, the members of the left-wing faction stood in their seats. With a straight face and fists raised. They made it clear where the dividing line is. A Europe based on solidarity cannot be built with the architects of exclusion. 85 years after the Manifesto di Ventotene was smuggled from the prison island, the fight against fascism is more relevant and urgent than ever.

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