Belgian police blocked Finnish MEP Sebastian Tynkkynen from entering the European Parliament for nearly an hour on Wednesday as he joined organizers’ attempt to carry more than half a million Save Europe Act signatures into the building.
Tynkkynen, who sits with the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) Group, accompanied campaigners as they pushed a wheelbarrow containing stacks of signatures across Place du Luxembourg towards Parliament. In a post on X, Tynkkynen claimed police officers were communicating with City of Brussels Mayor Philippe Close and coordinating their actions. According to the MEP, his team recorded video footage supporting his allegations and promised to launch a formal investigation into the case.
The scene was part of a demonstration organized by Save Europe Act, a European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) calling for a moratorium on non-Western and non-European immigration, stricter external border controls, faster deportations, and an EU-wide framework for voluntary or incentivized remigration. It passed 500,000 preliminary signatures on 7 July, halfway towards the organizers’ stated target of one million.
The protest was attended by a few hundred people, including many right-wing anti-immigration political influencers, activists, and MEPs. Besides Tynkkynen, Polish MEP Dominik Tarczyński and Cypriot MEP Geadis Geadi were also present.
The demonstration itself survived an eleventh-hour attempt to stop it. Ixelles Mayor Romain De Reusme had prohibited the gathering one day earlier, saying it had been misleadingly presented as a student demonstration and citing public-order concerns and an earlier nationalist march in Leuven. Belgium’s Council of State suspended his order only hours before the scheduled protest, allowing the event to proceed at Place du Luxembourg. De Reusme reportedly called the outcome ‘democratic suicide’.
The campaign team uploaded several videos and photos from the event. One of them appears to show Dutch activist and Save Europe Act co-founder Eva Vlaardingerbroek delivering a fiery speech while attempting to enter the European Parliament with more than 500,000 signatures.
‘We are not here to ask for permission,’ she declared, stating that the organizers would bring the voice of European citizens to Parliament regardless of whether EU officials wanted to hear it.
Vlaardingerbroek said the campaign had gathered more than 535,000 signatures—over half the one-million threshold needed for a successful European Citizens’ Initiative—in less than two months. She demanded a complete halt to legal and illegal non-Western immigration and an EU-wide remigration system ‘so we can finally start sending them back’. The crowd then erupted into the familiar chant: ‘Send them back!’
The following day, organizers promised to return with one million signatures, theoretically enough to meet the threshold for a successful ECI. However, the European Commission has already warned that it may refuse to register the campaign, arguing that distinctions based on ethnic, cultural, or civilizational origin could conflict with the EU Charter’s non-discrimination guarantees.
Related articles:
At a time when public debate is increasingly polarized and superficial, Hungarian Conservative remains committed to depth, intellectual honesty, and independent conservative thought.
Producing high-quality journalism requires resources. Your contribution helps us expand our coverage, reach new audiences, and keep our content accessible.
Please consider supporting our mission.
