''Her Dutch ally Geert Wilders of the anti-Islam, anti-immigrant PVV, said he was “very confident that … the five parties would find the extra two allies needed”.
French National Front leader Marine Le Pen, centre, with Dutch Freedom Party leader Geert Wilders, right, Austria's Freedom Party secretary-general Harald Vilimsky, second left, and the federal secretary of Italy's Lega Nord, Matteo Salvini in Brussels yesterday. Source: AP
FRESH from victory in European elections in France, far-right leader Marine Le Pen remains confident of creating a new Eurosceptic group within weeks inside the European parliament.
After driving her National Front to first place with 25 per cent of the vote in France, Ms Le Pen hopes to form and take command of a far-right grouping of parties in the parliament, a move that would boost both her influence and financial clout.
But she appeared at a press conference in Brussels yesterday with allies from only four countries, short of the seven-nation representation required to be considered a group.
With her were leaders of Belgium’s Vlaams Belang, the Dutch Party for Freedom (PVV), the Freedom Party of Austria (FPO) and Italy’s Lega Nord.
Also trying to form a Eurosceptic grouping is a rival anti-EU leader, Britain’s Nigel Farage, the head of the UK Independence Party, who like Ms Le Pen topped national polls, and also picked up 24 seats in the EU assembly.
“We aren’t worried in the least about the future existence of our group,” said Ms Le Pen. “Farage heads a group and wants to keep it,” she added. “Sorry, Nigel, but we’re going to set up our group.”
Ms Le Pen said the two could possibly work together informally, perhaps forming “a front to oppose the most harmful elements” in the EU.
Her Dutch ally Geert Wilders of the anti-Islam, anti-immigrant PVV, said he was “very confident that … the five parties would find the extra two allies needed”.
As they held their news conference, hundreds of protesters outside the parliament building shouted anti-fascist slogans. If recognised as a group, the Front and its allies would win the right to express an opinion on any issue raised in plenary session and take the presidency of any of the parliament’s 20 committees.
Its president would help draw up the agenda of the plenary sessions and get the right to reply directly in plenary session to the heads of the European Commission and the European Council.
It would also be given offices and aides paid for by parliament.
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