Orbán, Le Pen, Salvini join forces to blast EU
integration
But don’t expect a single Euroskeptic group any time
soon.
BY MAÏA DE
LA BAUME
July 2,
2021 8:40 pm
Sixteen European
right-wing populist parties, including several in government, joined forces on
Friday to rail against the EU’s political direction, declaring the bloc to be
“a tool of radical forces” trying to build a superstate.
The parties
that signed the declaration include Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s
Fidesz, Poland’s governing Law and Justice, France’s National Rally, led by
Marine Le Pen, Austria’s Freedom Party, Spain’s Vox and Italy’s League and
Brothers of Italy, led by Matteo Salvini and Giorgia Meloni respectively.
The
signatories come from different political families that have often struggled to
work together, and some suggested it was a step toward forming a single group.
But MEPs and officials told POLITICO a single European Parliament faction was
not on the cards any time soon.
“The EU is
becoming more and more a tool of radical forces that would like to carry out a
cultural, religious transformation and ultimately a nationless construction of
Europe, aiming to create … a European Superstate,” the parties wrote.
They framed
the declaration as a contribution to the debate about the EU now underway in a
Conference on the Future of Europe launched earlier this year.
“European
nations should be based on tradition, respect for the culture and history of
European states, respect for Europe’s Judeo-Christian heritage and the common
values that unite our nations,” they declared.
“We
reaffirm our belief that family is the basic unit of our nations. In a time
when Europe is facing a serious demographic crisis with low birth rates and
ageing population, pro-family policy making should be an answer instead of mass
immigration.”
They called
for the EU to be reformed with “a set of inviolable competences of the European
Union’s member states, and an appropriate mechanism for their protection with
the participation of national constitutional courts or equivalent bodies.”
The
document shows that parties that have railed against the EU mainstream from
various camps have managed to establish some common ground, despite significant
differences and rivalries.
On policy,
for example, the National Rally is Russia-friendly while Law and Justice takes
a hard line against Moscow. When it comes to personalities, Orbán has
previously been reluctant to align himself with Le Pen.
The
declaration also marked a further step away from Europe’s center right by
Orbán, who was part of the mainstream European People’s Party group until March
this year.
Nicolas
Bay, who heads the National Rally delegation in the European Parliament, said
the goal of the manifesto is to form a broader group “in the upcoming months.”
But Ryszard
Legutko, a senior MEP from Poland’s Law and Justice party, said there was “no
intention” to form a new group in the European Parliament. “This does not
affect the configuration of the groups,” said Legutko, co-chair of the European
Conservatives and Reformists group in the Parliament.
However, he
suggested more parties might join the loose alliance backing the declaration.
“In a couple of weeks, we will see how many will sign, and contribute,” he
said.
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