EU’s centre-wing welcomes new members, eyes Belgium’s conservative N-VA

3 months ago 10

The centre-right European People’s Party (EPP) group is set to officially welcome 11 new members at a meeting on Tuesday (18 June), but the party leadership is also eyeing a closer alliance with Belgium’s N-VA, currently sitting with the hard right.

New members from the Netherlands, Hungary, and Denmark have boosted the EPP’s seat count to 190 and the group is now by far the biggest in the European Parliament, followed by the Socialists (S&D) with 136 seats, after this month’s European elections’ results.

The EPP leadership also has an interest in welcoming Belgium’s N-VA, currently sitting alongside Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s Fratelli d’Italia within the hard-right European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group, sources from the EPP confirmed to Euractiv.

In the last five years, N-VA – a conservative and nationalist party advocating the dissolution of Belgium and independence for Flanders – and EPP have developed a strong partnership.

“The last five years I worked very well with the chairman of the Budgets Committee in the European Parliament, Johan van Overtveld [from N-VA]. In the legislative processes, EPP colleagues have also had a good experience with N-VA,” Romanian MEP Sigfried Mureșan, vice-chair of the EPP group, told Euractiv.

A source from the Belgian delegation within the EPP, currently comprising Les Engagés and CD&V, pointed out that “the N-VA has, objectively speaking, voted following the EPP’s line in many files,” and added that they are “open” for the party to join them, “but it depends on what the deal is”.

As Les Engagés is poised to leave the EPP and join the liberal Renew Europe group, it further opens the door for N-VA to join the centre-right.

After the Belgian national elections on 9 June, N-VA is on track to become one of the leading government parties as its leader, Bart De Wever, has been tasked with finding a suitable governing coalition, and is himself one of the favourites to become the next prime minister.

One key piece that will determine whether N-VA jumps ship from the ECR to the EPP is the future composition of the hard-right ECR.

Considered one of the moderate delegations within the hard-right faction, N-VA would have the incentive to change groups if the controversial Fidesz party of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, currently non-affiliated, were to join the ECR.

After active negotiations in the past weeks, no official application was submitted by N-VA and thus there will not be a vote on their membership during Tuesday’s meeting.

Still, the situation could change in the coming months and negotiations will continue, Euractiv understands.

However, N-VA joining would be a hard pill to swallow for the Spanish delegation – the Partido Popular, the second strongest in the group with 22 seats – as the Flemish nationalist party has strong links with the Catalan pro-independence parties.

N-VA did not reply to Euractiv’s request for comment.

The Hungarian, Dutch, and Danish newcomers

One of the key new stars of the EPP group will be Hungary’s Tisza party, led by Peter Magyar, who has always made clear he would join EPP.

Magyar emerged as the main challenger to Prime Minister Orbán this year after political scandals rocked the country, resulting in the resignation of Magyar’s ex-wife Judit Varga from all her positions, including that of minister of justice, along with the country’s President Katalin Novák.

He then started a campaign against Orbán’s leadership, launching allegations of corruption in the government’s highest echelons.

EPP president Manfred Weber announced the “door was open” for the Hungarian newcomers during a recent visit to Budapest.

From the Netherlands, centre-right newcomer NSC and farmers’ BBB – both part of a newly crafted government with the far-right PVV – will join the group.

The Dutch party that is currently within EPP, CDA, had previously voiced opposition to NSC and BBB joining, arguing that both parties have a “Eurosceptic or even anti-European attitude,” according to its lead candidate Tom Berendsen, but has now backtracked.

One MEP from Denmark’s Liberal Alliance is also expected to join.

When Liberal Alliance unsuccessfully ran for European elections in 2019, it had set its sights on joining the liberal Renew Europe group, but the party has since changed its leadership and political priorities and is opting for the centre-right.

*Magnus Lund Nielsen contributed to the reporting

[Edited by Aurélie Pugnet/Zoran Radosavljevic]