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The past fortnight has seen several shifts in Parliament, with two MEPs leaving their national political parties. German MEP Lars Patrick Berg was the first to announce his departure from his national party, Alternative for Germany (AfD), followed by Polish member Róża Thun, who declared her intention to leave Poland’s main opposition party, Civic Platform (PO).

A member of Parliament since 2019, Berg stated that he was leaving the AfD party as its current policies, including support for Germany leaving the European Union, diverged from his own opinions. Berg’s departure from his national party means that he will also leave the Identity and Democracy group to sit in Parliament as a non-attached (NI) member.

As he leaves the group, Berg will lose his seat on a number parliamentary committees, including as a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee (AFET), the Human Rights Subcommittee (DROI) and the Security and Defence Sub-committee (SEDE). The German MEP’s departure from ID means that the group will now be represented by 73 MEPs, the same number as the Greens/EFA group.

Meanwhile, Thun will remain with the European People’s Party group as an independent member despite leaving her national party. Thun has said that her decision to leave PO was spurred on by significant disagreements with the party on issues such as the environment and immigration. However, the PO’s abstention on a vote to pass the EU recovery fund was the last straw. Thun, who was very actively involved with the party in the 1970s and 80s, has said that she’s willing to continue her work in Parliament with the EPP group. She has said that she is “in favour of a tougher environmental stance” and “accepting refugees and providing them with legal guardianship and humanitarian aid”.

In other Parliament news, the Legal Affairs Committee (JURI) has chosen French MEP Geoffroy Didier (EPP) as its rapporteur for the Digital Services Act (DSA), while the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee (ECON) has chosen another French member, Stéphanie Yon-Courtin (RE), as rapporteur for the Digital Markets Act (DMA). Finally, the Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Committee (LIBE) has elected Andrzej Halicki (EPP, PL) as third vice-chair by acclamation. Halicki has said that his priorities in the role will be the protection of rights, rule of law and civil society support.

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