Three major populist and nationalist leaders from Hungary, Austria, and the Czech Republic, led by Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán, announced in Vienna on Sunday the formation of a new far-right group in the European Parliament.
“The goal is to make this group the strongest right-wing faction in the European Parliament in a short time,” stated the Hungarian leader, who will assume the rotating presidency of the European Council starting tomorrow.
The new faction, which still requires at least four more parties to join, will be named “Patriots for Europe.” The founding members are the governing Hungarian party Fidesz, the Austrian liberal opposition FPÖ, and the Czech opposition party ANO, also known as the Alliance of Discontented Citizens.
The three formations, united by their agenda to curb immigration in Europe, won their respective national votes in the most recent European elections.
In addition to a restrictive migration policy, they advocate phasing out vehicles with combustion engines across Europe and reevaluating the European Union’s Green Deal proposal for ecological transformation.
Joining Orbán in signing the call was FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl and ANO leader and former Czech prime minister Andrej Babiš, described as a magnate by some observers.
The trio stressed that their aim is to turn the announcement into a momentum booster to attract other European parties to their cause.
During the press briefing in Vienna, where reporters were allowed to ask questions, the leaders declined to specify which other national parties across Europe were negotiating to join the faction.
If successful, Patriots for Europe would become the third radical-right faction in the European Parliament, alongside Identity and Democracy (ID) and the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR).
Between them, the three parties currently hold 24 MEPs, one seat more than the 23 required to form a group, though they still need to attract at least four additional parties to formalize the alliance.
Kickl, who leads in Austrian polling with around 27 percent support in the run-up to the September 29 general election, noted that from now on, “all political forces willing to join this positive reform effort will be welcome.”
“From what I have heard in recent days, there will be more support than some people can imagine,” the far-right leader added cryptically without offering further details.