Ursula von der Leyen has ruled out working with political parties that are "Putin's friends" if she is re-elected president of the European Commission.
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00:00 EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is the only nominee to be the lead candidate
00:07 for the European People's Party. The EU's biggest party made the announcement in Brussels.
00:12 Von der Leyen revealed on Monday her plans to run for a second term. She has now visited
00:17 the EPP Group's meeting at the European Parliament, where she has gained the support of some Conservative
00:22 MEPs. Party boss Manfred Weber is confident in an election success.
00:27 When I became party president, we only had seven prime ministers and chancellors and
00:37 head of states and government on the EPP table. Today we have 12 and most probably we will
00:44 have in June this year 14 prime ministers, head of states and government in our ranks.
00:49 So I can tell you the EPP is back. According to the polls, though the European
00:55 People's Party will remain the biggest political group, they will need allies to achieve a
01:00 parliamentary majority. When asked about a possible cooperation with the Euro-sceptic
01:04 European Conservatives and Reformers Group, Ursula von der Leyen said where she drew the
01:09 line. The cut-off line is, do you stand for democracy?
01:15 Do you defend our values? Are you very firm in the rule of law? Are you supporting Ukraine?
01:22 And are you fighting against Putin's attempt to weaken and divide Europe? And these answers
01:30 have to be very clear. Von der Leyen's warning comes after Hungary's
01:35 Prime Minister Viktor Orban revealed plans for his Fidetz party to join the ECR after
01:41 the elections. Orban was widely criticised for blocking the EU's efforts to help Ukraine
01:46 for several months. Another ECR member party to heed von der Leyen's warning could be the
01:50 Polish Law and Justice Party, which clashed with the EU over the rule of law backsliding.
01:56 [train sounds]
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