European Interest

Italy’s 5-Star rejects far-right alliance in European Parliament

Flickr/European Parliament/CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
A view of the European Parliament in Brussels.

“There is no doubt that the Movement will never sit together with (Marine) Le Pen,” 5-Star’s Roberto Fico told reporters in Brussels after meeting leaders of political groups in the EU parliament.

As reported by the Reuters news agency, Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally sits in the EU chamber together with the League, led by Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, in their Europe of Nations and Freedom (ENF) grouping.

At home, the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement rules Italy together with the far-right League. And in the European Parliament it sits in the Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy (EFDD) Eurosceptic bloc with Nigel Farage’s UK Independence Party (UKIP).

According to Reuters, the 5tar Movement’s future grouping in the EU assembly remains unclear. The party has tried to join the pro-European liberal group but was rejected.

Fico, the speaker of Italy’s Chamber of Deputies, said he wanted to meet all political groups before deciding alliances.

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