Far-right Romanian MEP Diana Șoșoacă thrown out of European Parliament session

Romanian far-right politician Diana Șoșoacă was thrown out of the session of the European Parliament on Thursday, July 18, during the debate on Ursula von der Leyen's election for a new term as President of the European Commission. In fact, a newly-elected MEP, she has had a rather controversial start overall in the EP, including through an anti-European speech on July 17.

On Thursday, Diana Șoșoacă was expelled from the European Parliament session after the EP chief, Roberta Metsola, requested her removal. Șoșoacă was attempting to interrupt the speech of MEP Valerie Hayer from Renew, according to G4media.ro.

The Romanian MEP, who was holding up an Orthodox icon and kept saying, "In God we trust," was escorted out of the plenary hall to the applause of the MEPs. She continued to shout in the hallways, saying that European Commission president von der Leyen "killed people" through the Covid-era vaccine mandates.

She also chose to wear a dog muzzle, ostensibly to equate them to medical masks worn during the pandemic.

In her maiden speech in the European Parliament the day before, Șoșoacă - who has been criticized for her ties to Moscow - accused the EU of ruining Romania by providing aid to Ukraine and called for a halt to the supply of weapons to Kyiv.

She also said Russia was "the only party that wanted to discuss peace."

Politico also published a feature on Diana Șoșoacă after her first day in the EP. The article begins by mentioning that Șoșoacă, the leader of the recently formed SOS Romania Party, "gained notoriety in Romania for her anti-immigration and anti-vaccine stances, as well as her disruptive behavior in the Bucharest legislature."

The politician is cited as having said that the European Parliament is where "devils meet" and that she intends to bring a priest to consecrate the offices.

On her first day in the European Parliament, Șoșoacă wore a traditional Romanian folk costume and brought myrrh and religious icons into her offices. She also claimed that reconfirmed European Parliament chief Roberta Metsola turned white upon seeing her.

Diana Șoșoacă, a senator in the Romanian Parliament since 2020, was elected to the European Parliament in June's European elections.

Despite her fiery comments and behavior,