Pro-life, pro-Russian, populists, and “Nazi” sympathisers: European Parliament’s new parties underground

Brussels – The set-up, in essence, does not change: The new European Parliament, as it emerged from the ballot box, will follow the composition of the previous hemicycle. But the 2024 European elections are set to swell the Non-attached Members (similar to the Mixed Group in the Italian Parliament, where MEPs who do not join major groups sit) and far-right forces with those formations setting foot in Brussels for the first time. More than 50 representatives from all new parties had never had MEPs: not a few, but almost all with ideas opposed to the integration project. Eunews dives into the new microcosm of the so-called “others”.

• GERMANY

The largest group of new MEPs is the Alliance of Reason and Justice (BSW), which gets six representatives at once: no affiliation and a group to look for. It starts with non-affiliates, and it is unclear if and how it will be able to find a political family within the Parliament. Sceptical of green policies, it does not present itself as an advocate of the Green Deal; above all, it is characterized by anti-Atlanticist positions and scepticism toward unconditional support for Ukraine.—instances that place it among the extreme right-wing and Euro-skeptical forces. From the BSW, no contribution to the integration project and, as a result, hardly papable to mainstream groups.

• POLAND

Six MEPs also for Konfederacja, a Polish party created in 2018, before the 2019 European elections. Zero to six seats, all under the banner of anti-Islam, anti-abortion, and anti-gay positions. The most natural placement for these Poles seems to be the Identity and Democracy group, should they decide to leave the limbo of the Non-attached, and ID is willing to accept them.

• ROMANIA

Watchword: Greater Romania, through the annexation of Moldova. The Alliance for a Union of Romanians (AUR) lands in the European Parliament, a far-right party that makes “family, nation, Christian faith, and freedom” its motto. They also bring pro-Russian sympathies to the Parliament. They look to the Conservative group (ECR) for the all-too-be-organized legislature, posing not a few headaches for a group that a section of the Populars (EPP) also looks to.
The country also elected a deputy from the United Right Alliance, an all-new list resulting from the union of three parties (SR, FD and PMP), with a past between liberals and populars. For this MEP, it will be a matter of choosing whether to negotiate joining the EPP or Renew.

• BULGARIA

Like the Germans of BSW, the Bulgarians of Revival also stand against NATO. The three new MEPs chosen by Bulgaria’s voters represent an avowedly no-vax and pro-Russia party. Currently among the non-Members, they do not seem to be intent on finding a political home in the new Parliament.

Also from Bulgaria comes the first-ever representative of There’s Such a People (ITN), a party created by singer and TV host Slavi Trifonov. The party is named after one of the albums by the leader and founder of the unique formation. They define themselves as neither right- nor left-wing, going to swell the ranks of European populism.

• SPAGNA

Spanish polls reward anti-establishment party The party is over (SALF). Against the privileges of politics and the partytocracy, SALF is appearing in Europe for the first time. Leader Alvise Perez is a controversial figure accused of disseminating disinformation on social media against leftist figures. Considered “an agitator,” he is seen as a populist who will most likely remain among the non-Members.

Europeanist, on the other hand, is Sumar, a far-left party allied with Pedro Sanchez’s Socialists in Spain. The one seat it won is likely to join the Left and could offer support to the PPE-S&D-Re coalition looming on the horizon, at least on specific files.

• CZECH REPUBLIC

Přísaha a Motoristé elected two MEPs. There are ongoing negotiations to join the Conservative Group (ECR), where Fratelli d’Italia sits. Filip Turek, the party’s leading candidate, is at the centre of a file opened by police in the Czech Republic over Roman salutes and the display of Nazi symbols. Accusations of neo-Nazism weigh on the formation, which Turek has rejected. Indeed, it is not the best calling card for the European Union.
Among the new “names” to land in the European Parliament is “Enough!” (Stačilo!), a left-wing coalition affiliated with The Left group. The official announcement is missing, but the only elected member is expected to join the group in the coming days.

• CYPRUS

A party that would also like to join the conservatives is the National Popular Front, a Cypriot party that elected one MEP. The party, avowedly no-vax and accused of neo-fascist sympathies, has ties with Vox in Spain and is in dialogue with FdI in Italy.

Cyprus also elects YouTuber Fidias Panayiotou, 2000 class. Famous for his attempt to travel to India and Japan without wanting to pay, he admits to knowing almost nothing about politics and lands in the EU Parliament as an independent. To be found out where he will be able to sit. The starting point is the far right.

• DENMARK

Another party that would like to join the Conservatives is the Danish Democrats (DD), which elected an MEP for the first time. The Danish formation challenges excessive EU bureaucracy and establishes itself as a eurosceptic and sovereignist force.

• LATVIA

From the Baltic republics, there is proof that every country has its own Lega. First, Latvia, a party whose name is a whole program, brings one MEP to the Parliament. The affiliation is with the European Christian Political Movement, which is linked to the European Conservative Party. It could, therefore, help enlarge the ECR. Declaredly no-vax, the party, at the national level, voted against granting candidate status to Ukraine. United List, a centre-right formation, wins one seat. Atlanticism, strengthening of national defence, and reform of the Common Agricultural Policy are the hallmarks of the party, which has no affiliation. Several options open up for the one MEP, and groups may consider endowing themselves with an extra seat.

• GREECE

There is no Golden Dawn anymore, but Greece can “boast” Niki, the Patriotic Democratic Movement, an anti-immigration, anti-abortion, anti-gay, no-vax party. A far-right formation, that may be living on among the non-members. It will certainly not support the grand revival of the European Union.

Another far-right, anti-immigration, hard-nationalism party is Voice of Reason, which brings an MEP—an unexpected result for a party founded in 2023.
The party looks with some interest at the conservative group, with which it sees certain affinities.
It is a different matter for Course for Freedom (PE), a far-left party critical of Israel’s response to the Nov. 7 attacks, anti-austerity and against neo-liberalism, which describes itself as “anti-establishment” with respect to the EU policies conducted so far. Euroskepticism is explained in the twelve-star political agenda carried so far. It may have in the Left group a possible solution in the new European Parliament.

• LUXEMBOURG

In the historically pro-European Grand Duchy, the success of the reformist Democratic Alternative Party (ADR) stands out. Against euthanasia and assisted suicide, the party has a restrictive vision of naturalization policies and calls for the abolition of the dual citizenship regime for a return to the single passport, the Luxembourgish one. Without a clear Euro-enthusiastic approach, ADR is considered the most sovereignist party in the country.

• CROATIA

An all-new MEP arrives to represent the Movement for the Motherland, a Croatian formation with intentions of joining Identity and Democracy. It is a new, strongly Euro-critical force.

• ITALY

The Greens and Left Alliance deserve a separate chapter in the list of newcomers because they are a new formation. It is too early to say whether the three expected MEPs will join the Greens or the Left group, and it is not excluded that both could happen, with one MEP on one side and two on the other. This is good news for the integration project in an immense underground of far-right anti-European forces.