Weber also lambasted the greenwashing bill — supported by centrist and left-leaning groups— that is at the heart of the political crisis.
“The fact that businesses will in future have to have ecological advertising approved before it is used is grotesque bureaucratic madness, and I will not support it,” he said.
Two days before the Commission said it was killing the bill, known as the Green Claims Directive, the EPP sent a letter to the Commission saying it wanted the law dead. That timing fed a growing sense among the center-left bloc that the EPP — the biggest group in the European Parliament — controls not only the Parliament, but also the Commission.
Weber, however, hit back at the left-leaning bloc, suggesting there’s little chance of an immediate détente. He also took wider aim at leftist parties and particularly Socialist Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, criticizing Spain’s effort to opt out of the new 5 percent of gross domestic product NATO spending target.
“One problem with European defense is the Socialist Sánchez, who is questioning solidarity in European security in order to score points with his own coalition with left-wing extremists and separatists,” Weber said.
Weber also said that Europe is running out of time to build an enduring European defense architecture.
“We have a two-year window of opportunity. After that, presidential elections in France and parliamentary elections in Poland will take place,” he said. “The year 2027 will be a defining moment for Europe. By then, Europe must prove its ability to act.”
Rasmus Buchsteiner and Hans von der Burchard contributed to this report.