Patriots for Europe sought to have EP condemn assassination attempt against Trump, but were rejected

The Patriots for Europe (PfE) group initiated a debate on the attempted assassination on Donald Trump and political violence in Europe at the European Parliament (EP) on Wednesday.

Fidesz MEP Kinga Gál, the group's first vice chair, said it was an honour for her to speak on behalf of her new group for the first time in the EP. She stressed that political violence has no place in our societies and should be condemned even when it is targeting sovereignist and patriotic politicians, which is the case with the attempt on Donald Trump's life. She called for a debate on the attack and political violence in Europe on the same day and for the adoption of a statement in September. The chairwoman of Fidesz's delegation also spoke out against their group's exclusion from the distribution of vice-presidential seats on Tuesday, which she said showed "a lack of respect for 18 million voters", for democracy and for the house's own rules.

The proposal was rejected with 337 votes against, 119 in favour and 15 abstentions. (PfE has a total of 84 MEPs, making it the third largest group.)

Before the PfE's initiative, the far left had also initiated a debate on the situation in Gaza, which was also rejected, so the agenda remained unchanged.