The European Parliament initiated an investigation into the European Left Alliance

The European Parliament has begun collecting signatures for an investigation into the European Left Alliance (ELA), which unites a number of European left parties, which could ultimately lead to the organization being deprived of registration and EU funding, which actually means its ban, Politico reports, citing a letter obtained by the publication.

The initiator was the deputy chairman of the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) faction, Charlie Weimers. He proposes that the European Parliament ask the European body that controls the activities of European political parties to investigate the ELA's possible violation of the core values ​​of the European Union.

According to the publication, the basis for the initiative was the riots of lyceum students in France. Weimers referred to statements by the office of French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu about the involvement of the ELA-affiliated French party “Unbowed France” in organizing protests in schools, some of which were accompanied by violence.

To submit the initiative for consideration, Weimers needs to collect signatures of 180 deputies from at least three political groups of the European Parliament by October 16. Politico notes that the necessary number of votes can be obtained with the support of right-wing factions.

If signatures are collected, the European Parliament vote could take place as early as October 19.

To approve the initiative, the support of the largest faction in the European Parliament, the European People's Party (EPP), will also be required.

The office of its leader, Manfred Weber, declined to tell Politico whether the faction would support the proposal.

However, ELA denied the accusations. “Supporting young people demanding better education is not a violation of EU values,” said alliance co-chair Katarina Martins. She said the ECR was “abusing EU procedure” by trying to divert attention from investigations into alleged violations of European values ​​by members of the far right.

The European Left Alliance unites, in particular, the Spanish Podemos, the Danish Enhedslisten, the Italian Sinistra Italiana and the Portuguese Bloco de Esquerda.