While the groups of European Conservatives and Reformists (CRE) and Identity and Democracy (ID), the two far-right forces in the European Parliament, have raised in recent months the possibility of merging into a super-group, when one On closer inspection, their positions are actually quite far apart on important issues.
The possibility of seeing the formation of a unified far-right group in the European Parliament has long been considered illusory. However, a recent initiative from some of the most influential parties within the CRE and ID groups has revitalized the idea.
“It’s time for us to join forces, it would be really useful”Marine Le Pen (National Rally, RN) recently told the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera.
If it were to see the light of day, this supergroup would probably be the second most important force within the European hemicycle with around 160 seats, according to projections from Europe Elects. The far right would be beaten by 20 seats by the center-right European People’s Party (EPP).
While many parties in the CRE and ID groups converge in their Eurosceptic orientation, they differ considerably when looking at the votes of their MEPs in the European Parliament. This is what emerges from data from the EU Matrix research platform.
A merger with ID would be particularly harmful to the cohesion of the CRE group. While in the last legislature (2019-2024) the CRE group voted uniformly 79% of the time, this figure would drop to 64% if they formed a single group with ID, where the cohesion rate is lower than that of the CRE group.
However, voting cohesion within a group is a key factor for collaboration with other parties in the European Parliament, because such low percentages would make them appear as a less reliable partner.
Furthermore, the formation of a far-right supergroup could even cause the CRE group to lose part of its influence within the European Parliament, rather than helping it gain some.
If the CRE group has managed to present itself in a favorable light so far, the President of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen (PPE), having even considered forming an alliance with it after the elections, a collaboration with the parties members of ID is always excluded.
This rejection of the ID group has been observed over the last five years. Indeed, the success rate of amendments tabled by ID MEPs in plenary was less than 1%, while the CRE group managed to have its point of view adopted more than 17% of the time, if we refer to the data from EU Matrix.
Russia and Ukraine
Almost all parties making up the CRE group strongly condemn Russia’s war in Ukraine, with a voting cohesion of 92%. For its part, the ID group has struggled to find a common position on the issue and cohesion on the issue is only 46%.
However, the EPP described the two parties’ stance on Russia and support for Ukraine as a red line for any future collaboration.
Furthermore, while CRE and ID appear to be closely aligned on issues of immigration, climate or green transition, the issue of Russia remains a thorn in the side of their potential collaboration.
“The main parties of the CRE group, [le parti italien] Fratelli d’Italia and the [parti Droit et Justice] Polish PiS, are among the strongest defenders of close ties between the EU and NATO and among the biggest critics of Russia’s actions »explained Davide Ferrari, head of research at EU Matrix, to Euractiv.
“This makes the CRE group a little more acceptable to the EU political class”he added.
However, the CRE group has already shown in the past that a more hesitant approach towards the issue of support for Ukraine was not necessarily an obstacle for it.
The two most influential figures in the group, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni (Fratelli d’Italia) and former Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki (PiS), left the door open to the party Fidesz of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to join their ranks after leaving those of the EPP, despite his controversial position on Ukraine.
Nick Alipour contributed to this article.
[Édité par Anne-Sophie Gayet]
