Candidates to be the next European Commission president clashed over EU defence policy during a live debate tonight.

Danish MEP Anders Vistisen, for the far-right Identity and Democracy Party, claimed the issue is being used to push for more European integration.

Speaking during the Maastricht Debate, Mr Vistisen said: "Let's be honest about what all of this defence talk is really about.

"It's about your vision to have a new treaty where you abolish the veto right and foreign policy, security policy, taxation policy, where you want to create an EU presidency and where you want a real foreign affairs minister of Europe.

"This is sort of the camouflage the Ukraine war is being used by you to drive this European intergration through."

But Bas Eickhout, for the European Green Party, replied: "To be very honest I'm getting a bit tired."

The Dutch MEP raised recent allegations about Russia and China’s influencing members of the European far-right.

He said: “Maybe before you are teaching everyone, clean up your own house."

Mr Vistisen accused his opponents of hypocrisy as he pointed to the Qatargate controversy in the European parliament.

He said: "Before that we were seeing Qatar buying off your parties. We were seeing a high level of corruption all across the European Parliament.

"Nobody has been more vigorous in wanting to implement stricter rules than the ID group. If there is a criminal case against any member of the ID group, we will take it seriously."

Incumbent European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen added: “When I see what your AfD colleagues, the lead candidates, have done, they are under investigation for being in the pocket of Putin, and if you look at the electoral programme, you will see that it echoes the lies and the propaganda of the Kremlin.

"So clean up your house before you criticise us."