How the European Parliament turned a minute's silence to political mudslinging

Published on 12/09/2025 - 15:22 GMT+2

Staging a minute's soundlessness successful the European Parliament astatine the commencement of a plenary league is usually uncontroversial and communal practice.

But the refusal of Katarina Barley, a vice-president of the chamber, to fto immoderate MEPs clasp a infinitesimal of soundlessness for Charlie Kirk has sparked uproar among galore blimpish MEPs, including wrong the European People’s party. Kirk, an American governmental activistic was shot in the cervix connected Wednesday portion helium was speaking connected a Utah assemblage field and died astatine the infirmary soon after.

Many blasted Barley, a socialist MEP and different left-wing MEPs for having politicised a random workout and hiding down rules to boycott governmental figures they dislike.  

“There are radical we privation to commemorate that are important for our governmental radical and the others should judge it,” said Kosma Złotowski, a Polish MEP from the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR), whose radical initiated the infinitesimal of soundlessness for Kirk. “We judge radical from the left, they should judge radical from the right.” 

On Thursday, the Parliament denied Charlie Weimers, a Swedish right-wing subordinate of the European Parliament, from holding a infinitesimal of soundlessness to grant Kirk. “Well, we person discussed this and the president said nary to a infinitesimal of silence,” Barley told Weimers successful the hemicycle. Videos connected societal media showed Weimer’s supporters lasting up and booing Barley.

Several socialist MEPs contacted by Euronews refused to remark connected Kirk’s infinitesimal of silence. But they insisted they would basal down parliament rules and decisions made by Metsola, “who by the mode is simply a subordinate of the blimpish EPP,” 1 of them said.

Barley's refusal drew the ire of Weimers himself and galore different members of his governmental group, who pointed to a 2020 infinitesimal of soundlessness astatine the Parliament granted to Georges Floyd, the achromatic American antheral whose execution by a constabulary serviceman sparked heavy governmental divisions astir the issues of constabulary brutality and radical injustice.

Under parliament rules, minutes of soundlessness are announced by the Parliament president at the opening of the plenary league and indispensable beryllium requested by governmental groups prior to the opening. Some officials accidental they had ne'er encountered cases of MEPs requesting a infinitesimal of soundlessness successful the mediate of a plenary.  

Few successful the EPP, the largest radical successful the parliament, openly reacted to the uproar. But immoderate MEPs defended the ECR propulsion to commemorate Kirk successful the parliament.  

Miriam Lexmann, an MEP from the EPP and different quaestor confirmed that “commemorations tin lone beryllium held astatine the opening of the plenary,” truthful “the minutes of soundlessness could not person been observed this week.” 

But Lexmann besides said she would enactment different petition for a infinitesimal of soundlessness “to grant Charlie Kirk’s bequest of dialogue.”

“His assassination is simply a people of exclamation arsenic we witnesser much and much utmost positions and hatred towards Christians and conservatives successful the EU, not excluding the European Parliament,” Lexman said.

Earlier this week, Metsola opened the plenary with a infinitesimal of soundlessness to Andrii Parubii, a salient Ukrainian person and erstwhile parliamentary talker who was changeable and killed successful the occidental metropolis of Lviv 2 weeks ago. Nobody successful the enclosure opposed the commemoration.

All MEPs besides stood up successful soundlessness to retrieve the victims of the derailment of the funicular "Elevador da Glória" successful Lisbon connected 3 September, of the wildfires crossed Europe and of the Gaza war.