Two members of the Dutch Farmer-Citizen Movement (BBB) have left the European People’s Party (EPP) in the European Parliament and joined the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group.
Nicola Procaccini, co-chairman of the ECR, said today: “We are delighted to welcome Sander Smit and Jessika van Leeuwen to the ECR family. Their arrival further strengthens our group as the natural home for centre-right forces committed to reforming the European Union with common sense and pragmatism.”
During the past year, the BBB has expressed doubts and held conversations about its role in the centrist group, themselves leaning more to the Right.
They have not been on the same page regarding contentious issues such as “green” climate policies and the pushing through of the Mercosur deal by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
The final straw was what the BBB saw as the draconian policy within the EPP to punish rebel EPP politicians who voted in favour of a motion of censure against von der Leyen in light of Mercosur South American trade bloc.
On January 20, EPP President Manfred Weber passed a resolution providing for the removal of all parliamentary privileges for six months for deputies who voted against the EC and its leader.
Abstention or even absence “without appropriate reason” during the ballot triggered the same sanction, resulting in a ban on speaking on behalf of the group in plenary sessions; the impossibility of being appointed rapporteur or chief negotiator for specific laws; and exclusion from negotiations.
The BBB politicians strongly opposed Mercosur and got sanctioned by the EPP for their voting on von der Leyen.
“As BBB, we will not allow our representatives to be silenced. That is why, after two years, BBB has decided to leave von der Leyen’s EPP group in the European Parliament,” said BBB group chairman in the House of Representatives, Henk Vermeer.
“Following a thorough analysis within our party and among our supporters, BBB has concluded in recent months that the ECR group offers the best basis for implementing our programme.
“In line with the main theme of our election programme: Less Brussels, more space for farmers, fishermen, regions and national sovereignty. And that fits in seamlessly with the ECR’s course,” Vermeer concluded.
MEP Smit stressed the good relations there were with many EPP colleagues.
“Since the European elections, we have sought to serve as a unifying force for broad centre-right co-operation in the European Parliament, transcending party lines. We have worked closely with numerous EPP colleagues in recent times”, he said
“As BBB MEPs, we will and want to continue this pleasant, close co-operation. From within the ECR group, we will now build bridges to the other groups in the centre and on the right.
“Only through such broad co-operation can we bring about the much-needed course correction in the EU.”
Smit noted that the ECR continues to have more influence in the European Union and is becoming a crucial partner to get things done in Europe, both in the EP and in national governments, such as Belgium, where Bart De Wever is Prime Minister and Italy, where Giorgia Meloni is Prime Minister and both are ECR members.
Smit accused von der Leyen of a “lack of transparency surrounding Pfizer text messages, shady financing of green lobby NGOs and the stubborn pursuit of an unachievable climate target for 2040”.
Procaccini said: “The ECR continues to play a constructive role in the European Parliament, working to build broad majorities around practical solutions and a Europe that focuses on the big challenges while doing less, but doing it better.”
With the arrival of the BBB delegation, the ECR Group now numbers 81 MEPs.
This is not the only defection since the EU Mercosur deal.
French MEP Laurent Castillo (from the Union of the Right for the Republic-affiliated) left the EPP in January 2026 and joined the Patriots for Europe group, citing rejection of the von der Leyen agenda and the Mercosur deal’s perceived threat to French farmers and food sovereignty as key reasons for the switch.
Farmer–Citizen Movement (BBB) joins the ECR Group // ECR https://t.co/1fw7rBkvuh
— Sander Smit ن (MEP BBB) (@sandersmitwzn) March 11, 2026
