Vlaams Belang has announced its intention to join Patriots for Europe, a new political group in the European Parliament co-founded by Hungarian Prime

Minister Viktor Orbán. The announcement was made on Saturday evening.

In late June, Orbán, the Austrian far-right FPÖ, and the Czech party ANO launched the Patriots for Europe faction. Since then, the Portuguese party Chega, the Spanish Vox, and Geert Wilders' Dutch PVV have also pledged to join the group.

“We are proud to be part of this political family,” said Vlaams Belang chairman Tom Van Grieken. “The love for our people and the diversity of European nations bind us. Together, we can ensure that in Europe, too, our people come first again.”

Until now, Vlaams Belang was part of the far-right faction Identity & Democracy (ID). “As right-wing, patriotic, and nationalist parties, we are strong together in Europe,” Van Grieken added. “We have more in common than what divides us.”

Meeting Member State Requirements

To be recognized as a political party, the new group must have at least 23 members from at least seven different EU member states. With the inclusion of Vlaams Belang, eight member states would be represented, meeting the minimum requirement.

Marine Le Pen's Rassemblement National (RN) may also join after the second round of the French parliamentary elections, which will be held on Sunday.

Respect for the Nation State

According to Tom Vandendriessche, a member of the European Parliament for Vlaams Belang, the new group has the potential to become the third largest in the Parliament, surpassing the green and liberal groups. “This way we can influence policy. We want to move towards a Europe where the nation state is respected again instead of being engulfed in a globalist and identityless project,” he stated.

“Vlaams Belang is joining forces with other nationalist parties at the European level to offer a significant alternative and return the EU to its core and original intention: economic cooperation between sovereign member states,” Vandendriessche concluded. Photo by Zwijger13, Wikimedia commons.