Czechia’s Babiš says new anti-migration, anti-Green Deal EU Parliament group in sight

4 months ago 15

The head of the Czech ANO movement, former prime minister Andrej Babiš, has said that his party, which quit the Liberals’ ranks last week, is establishing a new group in the European Parliament – but it is still unclear with whom he will team up.

“We will establish a new faction in the European Parliament, against migration and for a change to the Green Deal,” Babiš announced on Instagram on Thursday (27 June). “You will soon know more,” he added.

The ANO movement announced last week that it was leaving the liberal Renew Europe group and the ALDE party, as Babiš argued that his movement could no longer pursue its agenda there.

However, some speculations suggest ANO had been about to be expelled anyway because of long-standing disagreements, as Babiš’ party has moved towards populism and nationalist rhetoric.

Babiš could join forces with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz party, Slovenia’s SDS party, and Poland’s PiS, media reported in Brussels, though none of this has been confirmed.

Sources close to ANO have recently suggested that the new group would involve Marine Le Pen’s Rassemblement National or Geert Wilders’ Dutch Party for Freedom. Both parties are still part of the far-right Identity and Democracy (ID) faction and it is for now unclear if those two parties would be interested.

Contacted by Euractiv, sources in Budapest close to Orbán and PiS in Warsaw did not confirm any talks about a new parliamentary group were under way, at least for now.

Slovenia’s SDS party leader Janez Janša has not replied to a Euractiv request by the time of this article’s publication.

Poland’s former ruling PiS torpedoed their current political family in the European Parliament, the Conservative ECR, by not showing up at the group’s constitutive meeting on Wednesday (26 June).

It was ultimately postponed to 3 July, one day before the unofficial deadline to have all groups composed.

According to two people briefed on the matter, there are deep disagreements within PiS leadership over appointments in the ECR, and whether they still want to stay in the group.

PiS leader Mateusz Morawiecki also said on Thursday that PiS may leave ECR with a “50/50 chance”, according to Politico.

According to the website Seznam Zprávy, Babiš also negotiated with Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico’s Směr party, which has been expelled from the European Socialists.

However, Smer is looking to join the Socialists group again, according to Slovak President Peter Pellegrini, the leader of Smer’s ally party, Hlas.

[Edited by Max Griera/Aurélie Pugnet/Zoran Radosavljević]