EU Reforms Led by Right Extremist Party
In a step against the efforts of the French President, the leader of the French far-right Marine Le Pen, and 15 of her allies in Europe, published a joint declaration of an alliance between them in the European Parliament.
French far-right leader Marine Le Pen and 15 of her allies in Europe, including Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, issued a "joint declaration" on Friday, describing it as "the cornerstone" of an alliance in the European Parliament aimed at "Reforming Europe," as they put it.
The signatories to the declaration published on the website of the National Rally party, led by Le Pen, “At a time when the advocates of globalization and Europeanism, and their main representative in France, Emmanuel Macron, launch the Conference on the Future of Europe, which aims to increase the power of European bodies, today’s agreement is the cornerstone towards the formation of a broad coalition in the European Parliament."
Among the signatories are Marine Le Pen, Italian League leader Matteo Salvini, Hungarian Prime Minister and Chairman of Fidesz Party Viktor Orban, Polish Law and Justice party leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski, Spain's Vox party leader Santiago Abascal and Fratelli d'Italia party Leader Giorgia Meloni.
🖋 Heureuse de signer la déclaration rédigée en commun avec Matteo Salvini, Viktor Orban, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, Santiago Abascal, Giorgia Meloni, Tom Van Grieken et d’autres leaders européens.
— Marine Le Pen (@MLP_officiel) July 2, 2021
Le rassemblement des patriotes européens est lancé ! ⤵️https://t.co/493MnxbGZ9 pic.twitter.com/geLXTD1Xsr
The signatory parties are not part of the same groups in the European Parliament. Both the National Rally and the Italian League belong to the Identity and Democracy group, while the Law and Justice, Vox, and Fratelli d'Italia parties belong to the Conservative and Reformist groups. Fidesz, which split from the European People's Party group in March, is looking for new partners.
In a separate announcement, Marine Le Pen, whose party is holding a conference Saturday and Sunday, said that the document is "the basis of a common cultural and political action that respects the role of current policy groups," stressing that the need for "deep reform of the European Union lest the creation of a major European state."
📹 Le rassemblement des patriotes européens est lancé : avec les partis patriotes les plus influents du continent, nous posons la première pierre d’une grande alliance au Parlement européen.
— Marine Le Pen (@MLP_officiel) July 2, 2021
✍🏻 Notre déclaration commune : https://t.co/stCBQhqxPb pic.twitter.com/GeoLZBo0m3
The 16 signatories considered that the European Union "continues to follow the federal path that inevitably distances it from the people who are the beating heart of our civilization."
“The most influential national parties on the continent recognized the importance of joining forces to enhance their relevance in discussions and reform of the European Union,” they added.