The new European Parliament faction organized by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, named the Patriots for Europe, held their first meeting yesterday. Notably, officials from Marine Le Pen’s National Rally (RN) participated. Orbán’s spokesman, Zoltan Kovacs, said on X: “Patriots for Europe continues to grow as Marine Le Pen’s National Rally joins.” Already the grouping is the third-largest faction behind the conservative European People’s Party (EPP) of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and the Socialists & Democrats.
RN party chief Jordan Bardella, Member of the European Parliament, was named chairman of the new group. Late on July 7, after the French result, he said: “In the European Parliament from tomorrow, our MEPs will fully play their role in a big group that will weigh on the balance of power in Europe.” The RN—which would become the biggest component of the Patriots of Europe grouping—has 30 MEPs.
The Italian Lega party, which has 23 MEPs, also announced that it has joined the Patriots for Europe. Its leader in the European Parliament, General Roberto Vannacci (ret.), became one of the deputy chairmen of the faction.
