Fact check: No, European Parliament didn't silence Polish MEP for his views

Published on 16/10/2025 - 12:43 GMT+2

Social media users person been criticising the European Parliament for supposedly being undemocratic, aft a clip went viral showing a far-right Polish MEP being chopped disconnected mid-speaking.

The video shows Grzegorz Braun responding to a code by Belgian socialist MEP Kathleen Van Brempt astir the EU's enactment for Ukraine.

"You are not helping Ukraine by prolonging this war," helium tells the European Parliament successful the clip. "You're not helping Ukrainian radical who are looking for shelter, escaping their ain state and..."

His microphone is past chopped disconnected by Esteban González Pons, vice president of the European Parliament, who gives the level backmost to Van Brempt.

She notes that Braun's involution "wasn't truly a question" and responds that the parliament has been agreed since the opening of Russia's "illegal warfare against Ukraine" successful giving military, fiscal and infrastructural assistance to Ukrainians.

"[They] intelligibly stated they privation to beryllium portion of a escaped Europe, and not to beryllium part, successful the future, of a Russian federation wherever determination is nary ideology and state of speech," she says.

The clip is often shared with captions criticising the European Parliament's expected deficiency of ideology by silencing Braun portion helium was speaking, pointing astatine the expected irony of Van Brempt talking astir the deficiency of state of look successful Russia soon afterwards.

However, successful reality, González Pons was simply acting successful enactment with communal parliamentary process erstwhile helium interrupted Braun, alternatively than targeting him specifically for his views.

The Cube reached retired to the European Parliament's property services for clarity, which pointed america towards Rule 178 of the Rules of Procedure.

It says that the president tin springiness the level to MEPs who indicate, by raising a bluish paper oregon utilizing the physics system, their privation to inquire different MEP a question portion they are talking.

The regularisation specifies that the question tin beryllium nary longer than fractional a minute, and it needs to beryllium related to what the speaking MEP has said.

"The President shall lone bash truthful if the talker agrees to the question and if the President is satisfied that this volition pb neither to disruption of the statement nor, done the putting of successive questions by raising a bluish card, to a gross imbalance successful the governmental radical affinities of Members speaking successful that debate," the rules stipulate.

Ultimately, the president oregon vice president chairing a plenary tin crook disconnected an MEP's microphone if they determine they've spoken for excessively long.

In the clip attached to the societal media posts, we tin spot that Braun's involution lasts astir 40 seconds, from the infinitesimal helium starts speaking until helium is chopped off.

So that's implicit the 30-second bounds and shows that Braun's comments were chopped disconnected owed to their length, alternatively than their content, which were linked to the statement connected Ukraine.

The transcript for the afloat statement can beryllium recovered here.

The parliament's Rules of Procedure besides incorporate different rules attached to the bluish paper system. For example, lone 1 bluish paper question per involution is usually allowed, and it's meant to beryllium a question, not a statement.

The parliament president tin besides contradict bluish paper questions to support time, and the MEP raising the bluish paper and the talker can’t beryllium from the aforesaid governmental group.

"The President whitethorn let the Member who has asked specified a question to respond to the speaker's reply for nary longer than fractional a minute," the rules say. "The talker whitethorn past travel up connected that reaction."