Patriots for Europe
Right-wing to far-right political group of the European Parliament
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Patriots for Europe (PfE or simply Patriots) is a right-wing to far-right sovereigntist[16] political group, formed as the third-largest group ahead of the tenth European Parliament.
Patriots
| Patriots for Europe | |
|---|---|
| European Parliament group | |
.svg) | |
| English abbr. | PfE Patriots |
| Ideology | |
| Political position | Right-wing[9] to far-right[13] |
| European parties | Patriots.eu |
| From | 8 July 2024 |
| Preceded by | Identity and Democracy |
| Chaired by | Jordan Bardella |
| MEP(s) | 85 / 720 |
| Website | www |
The group includes all MEPs of the former Identity and Democracy group (except one MEP from AfD), as well as members from other groups. The group also seeks to coordinate the work of its members at the European Council and the Council of the European Union.[17]
History
Formation
Fidesz had been unaffiliated at the European level since leaving the European People's Party Group (EPP Group) in March 2021. ANO MEPs belonged to the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party and its affiliated Renew Europe group since 2011, but left both organisations after the 2024 European Parliament elections, citing disagreements with the party's programme. The Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) belonged to the far-right Identity and Democracy (ID) group during the ninth term (2019–2024).[18]
On 30 June 2024, the founding of the group was announced at a press conference in Vienna by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán (Fidesz), former Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (ANO 2011), and former Austrian Minister of the Interior Herbert Kickl and MEP Harald Vilimsky (both Freedom Party of Austria).[10][19][20] Representatives of the three founding parties signed "A Patriotic Manifesto for a European Future",[21][22][23] setting out the alliance's ideological positions, including weakening the EU, a focus on European cultural identity, opposition to illegal immigration, and a revision of the European Green Deal.[24]
On 1 July, the nationalist Portuguese party Chega, with two MEPs, became the fourth member of the Patriots for Europe.[25][26] On 5 July, the Spanish Vox party also joined, leaving the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group.[27] The same day, the Dutch Party for Freedom (PVV), formerly part of the ID Group, also announced it would join.[28] On 6 July, the Danish People's Party and Vlaams Belang, both part of the ID group, announced they would also join, bringing the group above the minimum number of member states required for an official European Parliament group.[29][30] On 8 July, the National Rally (RN) and Lega were announced as new members of the group.[31][32] The prerequisite for establishing a political group of the European Parliament is the membership of at least 23 MEPs from at least seven EU member states. The alliance met this criterion on 6 July 2024.[33] According to Le Monde, the RN waited until after the second round of the 2024 French legislative election for the announcement "for fear of reviving suspicion of pro-Russian sympathies".[34]
Potential members
During the formation process, parties previously speculated as possible members of the new EU Group included:[35][11][36]
- Germany: Alternative for Germany (AfD), which has 15 MEPs (formerly part of the ID Group). However, due to previous tension between Fidesz and AfD, this was seen as unlikely,[37] with AfD stating it had no current plans to join.[38] AfD expressed interest in creating a group including Hungarian Fidesz rival Our Homeland Movement and the Bulgarian Revival. These parties eventually established a separate far-right grouping, Europe of Sovereign Nations.[39] Fidesz leader Viktor Orbán later stated in an interview that the National Rally had objected to AfD joining the Patriots for Europe group.[40]
- Poland: Law and Justice (PiS), which won 20 MEPs, initially negotiated with the Patriots for Europe, but later reached an agreement with Brothers of Italy allowing it to remain in the European Conservatives and Reformists.[41]
- Slovakia: Republic Movement, with two MEPs, expressed interest in membership,[42] but one MEP subsequently joined Europe of Sovereign Nations on 10 July.[43]
- Slovakia: Smer–SD was speculated to join the alliance with its five MEPs; however, according to its junior coalition partner, Hlas–SD, Smer–SD expressed a preference for rejoining the S&D group.[44] Although it was later rejected from S&D,[45] Smer–SD declined to join Patriots for Europe, saying that it can not join the group that "has nothing to do with social democracy".[46][47]
- Slovenia: The Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS), which won four MEPs, ultimately remained part of the EPP Group, while noting that not all SDS MEPs agreed with this decision.[48][49]
- Romania: The Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (RMDSZ), which won two MEPs, announced that the party will remain in the EPP group, because they believe that Hungarian interests can be asserted by being in separate factions, and because Fidesz has not approached them to join.[50]
10th European Parliament (2024–present)
On 8 July, Jordan Bardella, president of the French National Rally (RN), was named as the group's president.[51][52][53]
The Polish Confederation's National Movement, which won two MEPs, announced in July 2024 that it was in negotiations with Patriots for Europe, while the three Confederation MEPs from New Hope joined the ESN group, and the one Confederation of the Polish Crown MEP was not seeking to join.[54][55][56] Ultimately, the National Movement joined Patriots for Europe on 1 October.[57]
Following the expulsion of Luxembourgish Alternative Democratic Reform Party (ADR) MEP Fernand Kartheiser from the ECR group, the Patriots for Europe group approached the ADR for talks. The ADR stated that while it was considering what group the party wanted to belong to if the whole party were fully expelled from the ECR Party, it was not yet actively discussing membership with any other political group.[58]
After the expulsion of Smer-SD from the Party of European Socialists, Smer MEP Monika Beňová said the party had an offer from Patriots for Europe to join, and expressed her preference for this option.[59] However, Smer MEP Katarína Roth Neveďalová stated it was "not true" that the party was seeking to join the Patriots group, noting that the party had so far only approved a mandate to join another group, which could be possibly be a new faction.[60] Deputy Speaker of the Slovak Parliament Tibor Gašpar, a Smer MP, confirmed that the party was considering joining Patriots for Europe.[61] During this time, Smer leader Robert Fico was reportedly in "ongoing consultations" with Fidesz leader Viktor Orbán about joining the group, though Fico remained undecided.[62] Vox of Spain and Chega of Portugal signaled openness to including Smer. According to Beňová, the party ultimately decided to postpone its decision until September 2026.[63]
MEPs
10th European Parliament
Organization
President
| President | Took office | Left office | State | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jordan Bardella | .jpg) |
8 July 2024 | present |  France |
 National Rally |
Bureau
2024–present
Group bureau during the 10th European Parliament.[65]
See also
Notes
- ANO announced its departure from ALDE and Renew Europe on 21 June 2024, with leader Andrej Babiš declaring that ANO would not be able to fulfill its program as part of those groups. ANO considered joining other EU political groups after its departure, before successfully negotiating the creation of the Patriots for Europe alliance with Fidesz and the FPÖ.
- Their MEP left PVV and eventually the ID group.
- Part of the Confederation alliance. Its other members did not join.
- The party contested the 2019 European Parliament election as a member of the ID Party, but failed to win any seats. After the 2024 election, the party gained representation and decided to join PfE.
- Vox left the ECR Group on 5 July.
