Ursula von der Leyen vows never to work with Europe’s far-right parties

Ursula von der Leyen leaves a press conference in Brussels on Wednesday. She said parties such as Germany’s AfD would never be allowed to become power-brokers in the bloc. Photograph: Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP/Getty Images

The chief of the European Commission has vowed to never work with extremist parties such as the far-right Alternative für Deutschland, no matter how big a vote they get in the European elections in June.

Ursula von der Leyen, officially launching her campaign for a second term in Brussels’s top job against a backdrop of rising concern over security and Russia, said on Wednesday she would only work with “pro-European, pro-Nato, pro-Ukrainian, clear supporters of our democratic values”.