Polish far-right Confederation MEPs split, join separate far-right EU groups

4 months ago 22

Unable to agree on which new EU group to join, newly-elected MEPs from Poland’s far-right Confederation (Konfederacja) party have decided to split, with some now joining the far-right Europe of Sovereign Nations group, while others are in talks to join Orban’s newly-formed Patriots of Europe group.

The Confederation, which was formed before the 2019 European elections but failed to pass the electoral threshold at the time, did much better in 2024 and managed to win six seats in the new European Parliament – though the question of which EU group it would join remained unclear.

After weeks of saying it would either join the conservative ECR or the far-right Identity and Democracy group, the party received an invitation from Germany’s far-right AfD to join its Europe of Sovereign Nations group, though not everyone in the party was willing to go down that road.

In the end, the party’s EU delegation decided to split, Polish Press Agency (PAP) reports.

MEPs Stanisław Tyszka, Marcin Sypniewski and Ewa Zajączkowska-Hernik joined the AfD group, while Bryłka, who previously told Euractiv Poland she did not want to cooperate with the AfD, and Tomasz Buczek are negotiating to join the Patriots of Europe.

Grzegorz Braun, the controversial Confederation MEP known for his anti-Semitic, Islamophobic and racist comments, who disrupted the Hanukkah event in the Polish parliament last December, was the only MEP reported to not be looking to join either group.

According to Die Welt, this resulted from the AfD’s decision. “The AfD’s condition was that they do not want to cooperate with Poland’s Grzegorz Braun” for the reasons of his statements about the Holocaust, among other things, Die Welt reported.

Despite several attempts, Euractiv Poland could not reach any Confederation members for comment.

(Aleksandra Krzysztoszek | Euractiv.pl)