"Von der Leyen's Pledge: No Collaboration with Far-Right Parties"
Ursula von der Leyen, the current president of the European Commission, has stated that she will not work with political parties considered to be "Putin's friends" if she is re-elected. This comes as opinion polls project a surge of hard-right and far-right parties in the upcoming European Parliament elections. Von der Leyen emphasized the importance of working with pro-European, pro-NATO, pro-Ukrainian, and supporters of democratic values groups. She also expressed concerns about the growing influence of Eurosceptic forces and the need to defend democracy and European values against those aligned with Putin.