FILE - European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen waves, as European Parliament President Roberta Metsola, right, and Manfred Weber, head of the Group of the European People's Party, left, applaud at the end of the EPP Congress in Bucharest, Romania, on March 7, 2024. It seemed like a throwaway line by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, yet it encapsulated what is at stake for many in this week's European Union parliamentary elections — What to do with the hard right? And should it be trusted?. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)