00:00An investigation by German news agency DPA has reported that the EPP, the European Parliament's largest conservative group, has been
00:07working closely with far-right members in order to pass tougher migration laws.
00:11Research into private WhatsApp logs and face-to-face meetings indicated that cooperation between the EPP and parties like Germany's
00:18AFD is far deeper than previously admitted.
00:21The draft migration law, which proposes deporting asylum seekers to return hubs in countries outside the EU, had been stuck
00:29for months after the Social Democrats refused to back it.
00:33To break the deadlock, the EPP reportedly presented its proposal to the right-wing populist ECR, Patriots for Europe and
00:40the Europe of Sovereign Nations group, to which the AFD belongs.
00:43The logs show the EPP even accepted amendments from AFD politician Mary Kahn, specifically regarding medical tests to determine the
00:52age of asylum seekers.
00:54EPP leader Manfred Weber did not deny the existence of chat logs, but dismissed their political relevance, claiming he does
01:01not control staff chat groups.
01:02While the committee majority is seen as a breakthrough for the Return Hub roadmap, critics warn the move could violate
01:09fundamental human rights and permanently shatter the parliament's firewall against the far-right.
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