Brussels, 28/05/2014 (Agence Europe) - Marine Le Pen of the French Front National and Geert Wilders of the Dutch Freedom Party (PVV) said at a press conference in Brussels on Wednesday 28 May with their far-right colleagues from Italy (the Northern League), Austria (FPÖ) and, Belgium (Vlaams Belang) that they are certain they will be able to form a political group at the European Parliament.
Delighted to have won such media attention, the two far-right populist leaders told reporters they would not have any problem forming a political group by July, when the new European Parliament comes on stream. Only five member states are currently represented in their movement, which is competing with the British party, UKIP, headed by Nigel Farage. Italy, France, Austria, Belgium and the Netherlands are not enough to form a political grouping as members from seven countries are needed.
On Wednesday afternoon, the leaders of the five parties met in Brussels to seal their alliance. Le Pen said that the Hungarian party, Jobbik, which is well-known for attacks on the Roma, will not be allowed to join the grouping, but did not say which other parties or countries she hoped to attract - simply saying that she was optimistic. She said she was not aware of any ties between the Swedish Democrats, who worked with the Front National in the past, and UKIP, which the press suggests might enter a deal.
Meanwhile, the leaders of the five populist parties tried to talk about what unites them - opposition to the euro, closing down the EU's borders, halting European integration and returning to national sovereignty and the nation state. In order to take advantage of national sovereignty and the power of the nation state, Le Pen did not challenge the idea of scrapping some international agreements like the European Charter of Human Rights.
The French leader, who would be the boss of the new political grouping, was not as confident about what the new group would do at the European Parliament. She said it would “try” to prevent any new progress in Europe, but neither she nor the other four leaders could say exactly how they hoped to achieve that as MEPs. Le Pen, notable in the previous parliament for her absence at crucial votes, such as in 2013 when the EP was voting to approve a Schengen reform providing new possibilities for re-establishing controls at internal borders. (SP)