Weimers told POLITICO that “all four groups had a part in these negotiations”, adding that “I was anticipating that this would be regarded as a positive example of centre-right cooperation that would lead to smooth trilogues [meetings between Commission, Council and Parliament], because that’s the actual outcome of all of this.”
He said “the left in Berlin” had used it “as a chance to put pressure on Friedrich Merz” and that the EPP “knows very well that this firewall produces inferior policy. In this case, they knew the S&D would never give them votes for returns, so they had to work with us and others to get real change on migration.”
“I want more group chats, I think it’s needed,” Weimers said.
Last November, the center-right, right-wing and far-right groups allied to pass the EU’s first omnibus simplification package, exempting more companies from green reporting rules.
The Greens’ negotiator on the migration returns bill, Mélissa Camara, said the revelations show why EU lawmakers should “come to their senses and reverse” Parliament’s mandate. Left-wing groups have challenged the Parliament’s position in upcoming negotiations with the Council, which will be up for a vote in next week’s plenary.
“These leaks are absolutely shocking but not surprising,” as amendments that the EPP and far-right groups proposed in Parliament talks “were going in the same direction,” Camara said.
It’s “further evidence of the end of the cordon sanitaire,” she added.
This article has been updated