The European Parliament group Patriots for Europe have convened their first summit in Brussels, bringing together key political figures such as Geert Wilders, Marine Le Pen, Viktor Orbán, Jordan Bardella and Matteo Salvini.
The gathering took place on October 17 at Hungary House on the city’s Rue de la Loi.
The choice of date was strategic; the summit ran parallel to the European Council’s meeting in Brussels, aiming to challenge and disrupt the European Union’s official narrative.
“This will be the first time of what will hopefully soon become a tradition on the eve of the European Council meetings [of heads of state and government],” said Gerolf Annemans, President of Patriots for Europe, on the eve before the event on social media.
The right-wing leaders and members now regard themselves as the voice of change in the EU.
Dutch PVV leader Wilders told Brussels Signal “a new wind” was blowing in Europe.
PVV leader Geert Wilders @geertwilderspvv speaks at first #PatriotsSummit in #Brussels. A new wind is blowing in #Europe, he says pic.twitter.com/oQ81zYep9x
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) October 17, 2024
The main topic on the Patriots’ agenda on October 17 was immigration.
“The asylum requests should be made at embassies and consulates either in the countries of origin or in transit countries, so that the review of these cases is conducted outside the European Union, and only those who have been authorized to enter may be permitted to do so,” said Le Pen, de facto leader of the French National Rally party.
Hungarian Prime Minister Orbán briefly commented on the Italian-Albanian agreement to process asylum seekers abroad, saying it was a “good deal”.
As the third-largest parliamentary group in the European Parliament has sought to build political momentum and solidify its influence within European politics
Despite that, the Patriots’ political influence within the EP has remained limited as the party suffered from the parliament’s cordon sanitaire, designed to exclude members from all committee chair and vice-chair positions, as well as other senior roles in the EP.
The Patriots for Europe group has announced that they will wage a new legal battle against the cordon sanitaire in the European Parliament. https://t.co/v2ThLxSpGu
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) October 2, 2024
