Talking Europe hosts the head of the largest political group in the European Parliament, the centre-right European People's Party. Manfred Weber, a prominent German CSU politician, is hoping that the June 9 EU elections will re-confirm the EPP's pre-eminent position, but he is cautious on the possibility of alliances with the hard-right ECR group. We also touch on the "Russiagate" and "Piepergate" controversies, the EPP's contentious plan to reform the EU's asylum system, as well as French President Emmanuel Macron's "unwise" – according to Weber – remarks about potentially sending French troops to Ukraine.

We begin with the "Russiagate" affair – allegations that some MEPs have been involved in Kremlin-backed media operations to influence public opinion ahead of the European elections on June 9. "Putin's puppets are doing the job for him in Europe, and we have to tell people, 'don't vote for them. Please vote for the democratic centre'," Weber says. "The most important thing is that we have full transparency. As an institution, we have to make sure that no money is involved."

If it comes to light that money was involved, should action be taken against the MEPs? "Absolutely. That must be judged. But at the end, it's also judgment by the voters," Weber answers.

We then discuss the EPP's controversial idea to relocate asylum seekers to third countries while their asylum claims are being processed – something that is not envisioned in the EU's current Asylum and Migration pact. The concept has been compared to the UK's contentious Rwanda scheme. "We have to lower the number [of arrivals into the EU], because the numbers are too high all over Europe, especially the numbers of illegal migrants," Weber says. "We are in favour of asylum. We are in favour of the Geneva Convention. But more than 50 percent of people arriving in Europe are not in this category. They are simply illegal migrants."

However, according to a March 2024 briefing from the European Parliament’s own research service, there are significantly more legal migrants than irregular migrants in the EU.

Nonetheless, "illegal migrants have to be refused. They must leave European territory," Weber affirms. "This is what people from all over Europe are expecting from us. We are not as radical as the extreme right that doesn't accept any kind of foreigner any more. We need foreigners, especially for working places. And we are not naive like the left is, to open the door to everyone. We are the centre-right and we are the balanced approach."

Weber is bullish on the EPP’s prospects in the EU elections.

"I'm quite comfortable in my starting point for the campaign because we won nearly all national elections in the last years. I took over as president of the EPP with only seven prime ministers. Today we have 13 prime ministers in our ranks. Socialists only have four. Liberals under the leadership of Macron have five. EPP has 13. The centre-right is coming back."

Asked about Macron's repeated assertion that he might send French ground troops to Ukraine at some point, Weber says: "I think that was not a wise thing to say, because that was splitting the West. [NATO chief] Stoltenberg had to clarify that we don't send troops; we will not be part of the active war. And the German chancellor did the same with the idea to not send Taurus missiles from Germany to Ukraine. He was splitting his own Berlin government. He was splitting German society. He was splitting the European Union. So both leaders, in Paris and in Berlin, are currently dividing and not unifying. And that's not good for Europe."

We also touch on the "Piepergate" affair that has rocked EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the EPP candidate in the upcoming EU elections. Asked about the allegation of nepotism in the appointment of a senior Commission official, Weber says: "There should be full transparency and full openness on this. Ursula von der Leyen will be ready to answer all the questions during the campaign. We are ready to show up with our ideas. Renew is not doing so. Macron is not doing so. I stand for a democratic Europe where we have candidates, where we have a programme, where we have a lively debate about the future. And I would love to see the same from the liberals."

Programme prepared by Perrine Desplats, Sophie Samaille and Isabelle Romero