Mr Marcel de Graaff is no longer a Member of the ID Group in the European Parliament.

The Identity and Democracy Group in the European Parliament (ID) takes note of the fact that its Dutch Member Marcel de Graaff quits the Group, after he was informed of his suspension by the Group.

The Bureau of the ID Group last Thursday in Strasbourg decided to suspend him as a result of his repeated provocative statements on social media regarding the Russian war against Ukraine. The ID Group condemns this war and hopes for an ending of it before long. With statements like "Go, Putin", and a number of similarly outrageous Tweets, Mr De Graaff can in no way represent the ID Group.

Internal debate is always welcome within the ID Group, but every Member needs to accept that other Members and delegations within the Group may not be damaged by positions that are unacceptable and outrageous.

Mr de Graaff was elected on the list of the PVV (the party of Geert Wilders) in the Netherlands, but in January 2022 he quit his party and joined Forum for Democracy (FVD). The ID Group agreed with the PVV that Mr de Graaff could remain a Member of the Group but that the PVV would still remain the ID-affiliated party. The Group is confident that after the European elections of 2024, the PVV will be back in the European Parliament with a strong delegation.