German Chancellor Olaf Scholz indirectly warned European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen not to try to secured another mandate after the European elections with the help of right-wing extremists, reported DPA, quoted by BTA.
"It is clear to me that when the next [European] Commission is formed, it should not be based on a majority in parliament, which also requires the support of right-wing extremists," Scholz said at a joint press conference with Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro in Berlin on Thursday.
In this regard, he is "very saddened by the ambiguity of some of the political statements" that have been heard recently, he said.
In April, von der Leyen did not rule out the possibility of cooperation with the right-wing group of the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR), to which Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's party, the ultra-right "Italian Brothers", also belongs.
Von der Leyen, who is the leading candidate of the conservative group of the European People's Party (EPP), defended her position in the European Parliament on Thursday. "I worked very well with Giorgia Meloni in the European Council, as well as with all the heads of state and prime ministers," said the German politician from the Christian Democratic Union (CDU).
Scholz, a centre-left Social Democrat, said his position was clear: "It will only be possible to create a Commission presidency that is based on the traditional parties... Anything else would be a mistake for the future of Europe."