To honour and remember the legacy of American conservative activist Charlie Kirk, Swedish MEP Charlie Weimers of the European Conservatives and Reformists group, urged European members of Parliament to observe a one-minute silence.
However, the European Parliament declined the request and asked to follow procedural rules, prompting strong reactions from right-wing members of the chamber.
On Thursday, September 11, Weimers asked the chamber to pause to “declare that our right to freedom of speech cannot be extinguished.”
His proposal was supported by lawmakers from other right-wing parties including members of Germany’s AfD and France’s Identity Liberties movement.
But President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola denied the request and a spokesperson explained the procedure as, “If there’s a request for a minute of silence, the request must come from a political group to be held at the opening of the season. If there;s a request it can be of course done in October.”
The situation got tense when Weimers’ speaking time for a silent tribute was interrupted by Vice President Katarina Barley, who was presiding over the session.
She stated, “we have discussed this, and you know the president said no to a minute of silence.”
Her statement met applause from some factions and desk-banging protests from right-wing MEPs.
President Metsola has previously condemned the assassination of Kirk and expressed her condolences on X (formerly known as Twitter), writing: “Shocked at the absolutely horrific assassination of Charlie Kirk in Utah today. Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife and young children - who were the bedrock of his life. May they find strength and may he rest in peace.”