Formation of new far-right EU group unlikely, says Polish MEP

3 months ago 10

Despite the desire and efforts of Germany’s far-right party AfD and some other parties, it is unlikely that a new far-right group will emerge in the European Parliament, argues Polish far-right Confederation MEP Anna Bryłka.

Konfederacja (Confederation), formed ahead of the 2019 European elections but failed to win any EU seats then, came third in the last European elections, winning six seats in the European Parliament.

As a result, the party has become an element of post-election speculation about future groupings on the right of the European Parliament, fuelled by the expulsion of the Alternative for Germany from the Identity and Democracy group (ID) and the recent news that Hungary’s Fidesz will not join the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR).

While the AfD’s initial post-election plan was to pave the way for its re-entry into the ID by expelling its leading candidate, Maximilian Krah, from its ranks, the party is now considering creating its own group instead, several party sources told Euractiv.

But Confederation’s newly elected MEP Anna Bryłka doubts that a new AfD-led group will be created, “even if there are some plans and will to create such a group”.

Asked by Euractiv Poland about potential partners for her party, Bryłka said talks with several parties were underway but declined to go into details before anything was finalised.

“We will introduce only six MEPs to the Parliament, so we are not big players. Still, we are talking to many groupings, and we will see what happens,” she said.

In any case, Bryłka does not expect a conclusion before 3 July.

ECR or ID?

Regarding the current groupings in the European Parliament, the Confederation has the most in common with the ECR and the ID, Bryłka pointed out, indicating that her party is considering joining one of these groups.

Much would depend on how these two groups would vote on Ursula von der Leyen’s reappointment, but there would probably be no consensus in the ECR on the matter, she said, clarifying that the Confederation was opposed to von der Leyen as a candidate for the Commission presidency.

“Only someone who is out of touch with reality can believe that we could ever consider cooperation with this German politician,” the Confederation’s co-leader and deputy parliamentary speaker Krzysztof Bosak told a press conference before the European elections.

He also called von der Leyen “a symbol of exactly what we want to put an end to unfounded rules that are contrary to the interests of citizens, that undermine the European economy, that destroy Polish agriculture (…)”.

Before the elections, experts contacted by Euractiv Poland doubted that the Confederation could succeed in joining either the ECR or the ID.

The ID group seems too pro-social for the Confederation, with its largely pro-market profile,” said Przemysław Witkowski, a researcher on political extremism at the Collegium Civitas University in Warsaw.

An alliance with the conservative ECR group is also unlikely, said Karolina Borońska-Hryniewiecka, a professor of political science at the University of Wroclaw, citing differences in positions on Russia.

Asked by Euractiv Poland about the possibility of the Polish conservative PiS (ECR) changing its allegiance in the EU house, Bryłka stressed that she did not expect the party to leave the ECR group.

With the ECR at odds with PiS, experts contacted by Euractiv expected the ECR to be reluctant to share a group in the European Parliament with the party.

However, in such talks, a lot is determined by practical interests, said Bryłka, who again did not want to go into details while nothing has been officially agreed.

(Aleksandra Krzysztoszek | Euractiv.pl)