The European Parliament on Thursday declined a request to hold a minute of silence for Charlie Kirk, the 31-year-old U.S. conservative activist who was shot dead while speaking at a university earlier this week.
Swedish MEP Charlie Weimers of the European Conservatives and Reformists group asked colleagues to pause proceedings and to “declare that our right to freedom of speech cannot be extinguished” after news of Kirk’s killing at Utah Valley University. The request drew support from members of Germany’s Alternative for Germany (AfD) and France’s Identity Liberties movement, but Parliament President Roberta Metsola said the bid could not proceed under chamber rules.
Metsola said procedural rules require tributes to be formally submitted at the opening of a plenary session and noted that the session in question had already begun on Monday. She said a tribute could be scheduled for October. Metsola also extended condolences, saying, “Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife and young children — who were the bedrock of his life.”
Weimers surrendered his remaining speaking time in the chamber to mark a minute of silence, but Vice President Katarina Barley interrupted him, saying, “We have discussed this, and you know the president said no to a minute of silence.” Barley’s intervention prompted audible protests and desk-banging from right-wing lawmakers in the hemicycle, while centrist and left-leaning members applauded the decision to stick to procedure.
Outside the chamber, Hungarian Fidesz MEP András László criticized Parliament’s decision as hypocritical, pointing to previous occasions when the assembly held tributes, including one for George Floyd. Members of some delegations posted images online borrowing the slogan “I am Charlie,” a reference to the 2015 Charlie Hebdo attack, drawing comparisons in social media responses.
The request to pause proceedings followed international reactions to Kirk’s killing. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni described the shooting as “a deep wound for democracy.” In the United States, political figures including former President Donald Trump paid tribute to Kirk, describing him in public remarks as “the best of America.” Kirk, who founded a campus outreach for conservative students and spoke for Turning Point USA, had been traveling to college events when he was shot.
Parliamentary leaders said the decision to refuse the on-the-spot tribute was grounded in internal rules governing the scheduling of moments of silence and tributes, not in the merits of individual cases. Metsola’s office said scheduling constraints meant any formal tribute would need to follow the standard submission process.
The refusal highlighted tensions in the chamber over how and when to mark deaths and incidents that resonate beyond the European Union, and it underscored divisions between right-wing groups pressing for immediate recognition and centrist and left-leaning members advocating adherence to procedure. Lawmakers on the right signaled they would seek alternatives to register their grief and to associate Kirk’s death with broader debates about political violence and free speech.
Metsola reiterated condolences to Kirk’s family and confirmed that the possibility of a formal tribute in a future session remained open, provided it followed the Parliament’s rules for submitting and scheduling such items.