Fernand Kartheiser under threat of expulsion from the ECR for his visit to Moscow

Luxembourg MEP Fernand Kartheiser has found himself at the centre of a political scandal after his trip to Moscow, and his membership of the European Conservatives and Reformers (ECR) group may now be terminated. The MP's fate will be decided on 4 June at 2pm, when a special meeting of the faction is called - six days before its next regular session.

The decision will be made by a vote of the 80 members of the panel, and an absolute majority will be required for expulsion. If Kartheiser is present at the meeting, he will be given the opportunity to defend his actions. Other deputies will also be allowed to express their opinions.

Criticism of Kartheiser intensified after his meetings with representatives of the Russian government and parliament. Additional outrage was caused by his interview with a Russian publication under EU sanctions, where he spoke in favour of lifting sanctions against Russia.

This story has the potential to escalate into wider political implications: the membership of Kartheiser's entire party, the Alternative Democratic Reform Party (ADR), within the ECR has been jeopardised. According to sources, key players in the faction, notably Italy's Fratelli d'Italia and Poland's PiS, are opposed to ADR's continued membership of the ECR - especially after party leader Alexandra Schoos publicly supported Kartheiser's visit to Moscow.

This incident exposes deep fissures within Europe's right-conservative camp, where positions on the Russia issue become a litmus test of loyalty. If the exception takes place, it could become a precedent that shows that there will be consequences for deviating from the common European line on foreign policy issues, even within ideologically close factions.