Going up the steps that lead to the exit of the hemicycle, Angel Dzhambazki, of the eurosceptic group ECR, turns around and extends his right arm in front of him a few seconds before leaving, can we see on the video of the debate available on the site of the European Parliament.
“We will never allow you to tell us what we have to say and what we have to do. Long live Bulgaria, Hungary, Orban, Fidesz and the Europe of nation states”, had previously declared the elected representative of the Bulgarian nationalist party VMRO at the desk of the hemicycle.
He also qualified on Twitter as “abomination” the decision of the Court of Justice of the EU which validated on Wednesday a mechanism allowing to deprive of European funds a country where violations of the rule of law are observed, and which was contested by Budapest and Warsaw.
The vice-president of the European Parliament, the Italian Pina Picierno, who led the debate, announced that the institution would “check with the cameras what happened in this hemicycle, to see if there was hello fascist or not”.
“We do not in any way accept fascist gestures and symbols. If this has been done, it is extremely serious and sanctions will be taken,” she warned.
French Secretary of State for European Affairs Clément Beaune, who was present as part of France’s EU presidency, reacted on Twitter, calling the gesture “scandalous and outrageous”. The French delegation of the centrist group Renew Europe has asked the President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola “to act”.
The rules of procedure of the European Parliament specify that MEPs “refrain from any inappropriate behavior” and “from any offensive remarks”. In the event of non-compliance with these rules, the sanction may relate in particular to participation in parliamentary activities or to allowances.