European far-right parties met in Italy on Sunday vowing to reshape the European Union after next year’s European Parliament elections, toughening the bloc’s approach on immigration and softening its climate policies to protect jobs and industry.
Parties from about a dozen countries met in Florence, galvanised by last month’s general elections in the Netherlands, which handed a surprise win to Geert Wilders’ anti-immigration Freedom Party (PVV).
“Our objective is for [us] to become at least the third-largest [group in the EU parliament], after the centre-right and the socialists, and to be decisive,” said Italian deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini, who hosted the meeting.
The far-right Identity and Democracy (ID) group is the sixth-largest in the EU assembly, also behind liberal, green and conservative groups.
The priceless Lebanon heritage sites destroyed by Israeli bombing
From liberal icon to Maga joke: the waning fortunes of Justin Trudeau
‘I’ll never forget the trail of bodies’: Magdeburg witnesses recount Christmas market attack
‘We need Macron to act.’ The view in Mayotte, the French island territory steamrolled by cyclone Chido
Mr Salvini, who failed to include in his alliance prime minister Giorgia Meloni and her poll-leading Brothers of Italy party, fronted a previous unsuccessful push in 2019 for a far-right breakthrough in EU elections.
Addressing the Florence rally via video link, Mr Wilders said he hoped his success, “a political earthquake in the Netherlands and Europe”, could be “the start of a wave of national election wins” for like-minded allies.
Mr Wilders hailed Mr Salvini, leader of the League party, as an inspiration and his “number one Italian friend”.
Mr Salvini hit out against the EU decision to ban new CO2-emitting cars from 2035, and was backed by the co-leader of Alternative for Germany (AfD) Tino Chrupalla, who called for an “end to the war against cars”.
Jordan Bardella, president of Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally party, won applause saying Europe cannot become a “five-star hostel for Africa”, and linking mass immigration to violence and crime.
There was less unity on other issues. Mr Wilders condemned excessive public spending while Mr Salvini railed against eurozone budget discipline rules, and German and Austrian far-righters breaking ranks on Russia and Ukraine.
“Ukraine cannot win this war, they should stop it,” Mr Chrupalla said, blaming EU sanctions on Russia for depressing the German economy and calling for a resumption of Russian gas imports via the Nord Stream pipeline.
Mr Salvini, once a staunch admirer of Russian president Vladimir Putin, told reporters that his party had “clearly supported every intervention in defence of Ukraine, with facts, votes and money”.
(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2023