A political clash has erupted in the European Parliament after Patriots for Europe accused the chamber’s majority of blocking a debate on alleged European Commission interference in national elections.
The clash took place during a meeting of the European Parliament’s Conference of Presidents, the body that sets Parliament’s agenda. According to Patriots for Europe, the majority groups—the left, liberals and the European People’s Party—rejected including the requested debate.
This Wednesday, March 4, the parliamentary group—currently the third-largest in the European Parliament—condemned the decision.
The controversy follows the publication of a preliminary report by the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee, which alleges the Commission held more than 100 closed-door meetings with major tech companies to pressure them to change their content moderation rules.
According to the report, those practices were later built into the Digital Services Act (DSA).
The group has formally requested a plenary debate, warning the issue poses a direct threat to democratic integrity in the EU.
“The U.S. House report shows that under the DSA, the Commission intervened around national elections, pressuring platforms to police lawful political speech during campaign periods. This is not about ‘disinformation’; but about controlling speech,” said MEP Tom Vandendriessche, who is leading the initiative.
The MEP also said that during the last plenary session members were not even allowed to vote on whether the debate should happen: “Last plenary, they refused a vote on whether to even have a debate. What do they have to hide?”
Vice-President of the European Parliament Kinga Gál described the episode on X. She said she raised the issue directly with Commission Vice-President Henna Virkkunen.
“Today, at the Conference of Presidents, I confronted Henna Virkkunen about the revelations that the Commission pressured tech companies to censor conservative and right-wing political opinions,” she wrote.
Gál said the response was nonexistent: “I received no substantive answer.”
In her message, she added that the parliamentary majority refused to allow the debate: “The left-liberals, together with the EPP, rejected the Patriots’ request for a debate on this matter. They do everything to sweep this matter under the rug.”
She concluded with a clear political warning: “We, the Patriots, will not let this happen.”
The dispute comes as the Digital Services Act faces growing criticism from those who fear it could lead to indirect control over online political speech.
The report by the U.S. Congress cited by Patriots suggests that the Commission may have pressured platforms as part of a strategy to tighten moderation during election periods.
Patriots for Europe argues the measures disproportionately targeted conservative political content, raising questions about fairness in political debate.
“The Commission must be held accountable. Free elections and freedom of expression are non-negotiable,” Vandendriessche said, warning that the issue would not disappear simply because Parliament’s majority refused to debate it.
