EU parliament dumps roaring vice president

The Polish Ryszard Czarnecki is no longer Vice-President of the European Parliament because of a controversial statement.

The leaders of the largest groups in parliament find this unacceptable and had proposed last week to release him from his position. They had the two-thirds majority needed on Wednesday in Strasbourg (477 against 196).

Czarnecki sits on behalf of the Polish nationalist government party Law and Justice (PiS) in parliament. He is a member of the group of European Conservatives and Reformers (ECR) who had argued for his stay. The man can remain 'just' MEP.