Hungary’s Viktor Orbán had courted the Polish Law and Justice party (PiS) to join his new Patriots for Europe alliance.
Law and Justice (PiS), from Poland, has decided to remain part of the far-right group of the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) in the European Parliament, ending days of growing speculation about the immediate political future of the party.
The news became official during the constitutive meeting of the ECR, which was held this Wednesday in a hybrid version after being postponed due to internal disagreements. This means that PiS decides to keep Giorgia Meloni, the dominant figure in the ECR family, and rejects Viktor Orbán’s offer to join the so-called Patriots for Europea new alliance which aims to establish the largest group of extreme right in it European Parliament.
So far, Orbán’s initiative has attracted ANO of the Czech Republic, the Freedom Party (FPÖ) of Austria already Enough of Portugal, all of whom share a deep dislike of the Green Deal, reform of the EU’s migration policy and military provisions for Ukraine. “Only through the victory and cooperation of patriotic and sovereign parties across the continent can we guarantee the inheritance of our children,” his manifesto says.
The formation of a group in Parliament requires a minimum of 23 MEPsun umbral that already comply, coming from at least seven Member States. This means that, today, the Patriots They lack three national parties.
Due to ideological similarities, PiS seemed to be a safe bet for Orbán’s Patriots. Its 20 MEPs would have quickly expanded the ranks of the nascent alliance and possibly helped attract more members.
The abrupt cancellation of the ECR’s constitutive meeting last week, reportedly due to a clash between the two main factions, Poland’s PiS and Meloni’s Brothers of Italy, sounded the alarm. alarm on imminent departure of the Polish delegation.
Mateusz Morawiecki, Poland’s former prime minister, said in an interview that the probability of PiS leaving was 50%. “We are tempted in both directions“, he told ‘Politico’, referring to Orbán’s new initiative. A Parliament official told ‘Euronews’ that PiS had started negotiations with other groups.
Meloni or Orbán?
It has not been immediately clear what made PiS choose Meloni over Orbán. The notorious desire of the Hungarian Prime Minister to maintain close relationships con Vladimir Putin has caused friction with the Poleswho detest the Russian leader and constantly advocate for tougher sanctions to cripple its war economy.
Orbánon the contrary, questions openly the effectiveness of the sanctions and is currently blocking EU military aid to Ukraine worth €6.6 billion.
This Wednesday’s news offers a sigh of relief to Giorgia Melonswhat hopes to increase the influence of the ECR in the next legislature. Since she came to power, the Italian prime minister has adopted a more pragmatic stance on the European stage and has sought to be part of the bloc’s decision-making process.
Your support was key to unlocking the New Pact on Migration and Asylum, an ambitious reform that his PiS allies strongly opposed. However, its influence remains limited: during last week’s negotiations on the most important positions in the blockMeloni was excluded by the main centrist parties, which provoked a furious reaction.
The loss of its Polish allies would have been a new blow to its ambitions: the ECR would have gone from 84 to 64 MEPs and would have given up its position as third most important force of the new European Parliament.
With the fall averted, Meloni and his peers can continue their efforts to maximize their influence and establish case-by-case alliances with the European People’s Party (EPP)center-right, to stop environmental legislation and promote policies to stop irregular migration.
During this Wednesday’s meeting, the group elected Nicola Procaccini (Brothers of Italy) and Joachim Stanisław Brudziński (PiS) as co-presidents for the next five years, consolidating the two delegations as those in charge Within the group.
