If the objective was to present an alliance supposed to upset the European political landscape and thus try to make people forget the defeat of the National Rally in the regional elections, the publication of a joint declaration of 16 extreme right wing and nationalist parties will not really have had the desired effect.
Not only did not we have to wait more than 24 hours for the withdrawals to begin – the sixteen co-signatory parties becoming only fifteen on the evening of the publication of the text – but this declaration appeared to everyone as exactly what it is: an incantatory text and a largely artificial European alliance; so deep are the differences between the co-signatory parties.
On relations with Russia: while the Polish PiS is showing a very anti-Russian stance, Marine Le Pen does not miss an opportunity to greet Vladimir Putin as a great leader, nor to justify Russian aggression, especially in Crimea.
On relations with Turkey: the Polish PiS sees Turkey as an important ally and calls for the strengthening of relations between the EU and Ankara, where Marine Le Pen regularly criticises Erdogan.
On NATO: after having constantly criticised the Atlantic Alliance, the National Assembly now underlines in “the Atlantic link of the European Union with the North Atlantic Treaty” “a great success for a large number of Europeans”!
On the reception of migrants, Matteo Salvini’s Lega calls for a system of “burden-sharing” between European countries to come to the aid of Italy, while the other co-signatories reject outright any European solution to the migration issue.
Finally, on the economic front: where the parties from the countries of southern Europe are happy to benefit from European solidarity, their so-called allies from northern Europe categorically reject any European economic solidarity.
In fact, the only real common characteristics of these parties are the selfishness, hatred and fear they seek to stir up. But they don’t offer real solutions to citizens’ concerns – how could they, since their only plan is the destruction of what has been built over 70 years?
For my part, I remain convinced that in order to protect Europeans against new threats, to respond to the challenges of the 21st century – whether it is the Coronavirus pandemic, climate change, the rise of China, digitisation – and creating the jobs of tomorrow, no Member State can do it alone.
We must move forward with a common ambitious vision, unite our forces and prepare a better future together. This is what we in the European People’s Party will continue to fight for, always with the same determination.
My column in l’Opinion
