European Alliance for Freedom

Last updated

European Alliance for Freedom
President Franz Obermayr
Vice President Philip Claeys;
Marine Le Pen
General Secretary Sharon Ellul-Bonici
Founded2010
Dissolved2016
Headquarters Birkirkara, Malta [1]
Think tank European Foundation for Freedom
Youth wing Young European Alliance for Hope (YEAH) [2]
Ideology Souverainism
Right-wing populism
Euroscepticism
Nationalism
Political position Right-wing [3] to far-right [4] [5] [6]
European Parliament group Europe of Nations and Freedom
International affiliationNone
Colours  Blue
Website
www.eurallfree.org

The European Alliance for Freedom (EAF) was a right-wing and Eurosceptic European political party founded 2010 and recognised by the European Parliament in 2011. [7] In 2016, it did not seek registration as a European party with the new Authority for European Political Parties and European Political Foundations and was dissolved.

Contents

Unlike in most European parties, the members of the Alliance were not national parties but individuals. The head office of the Alliance was in Brussels, Belgium, and its registered office was in Birkirkara, Malta. Franz Obermayr, from Austria, was the president of the organisation starting in November 2012, succeeding founding chairman Godfrey Bloom from the United Kingdom. His vice-presidents were the Belgian Philip Claeys and the French Marine Le Pen. [8] The secretary-general was Sharon Ellul-Bonici from Malta. [9]

The EAF was awarded a grant by European Parliament for 2011 of, at most, €372,753. [7] In 2012 the EP's maximal grant dropped to €360,455. [1] The party's affiliated European political foundation was the European Foundation for Freedom. [10]

2014 European Parliament election

Ahead of the 2014 European Parliament election, it was suggested that EAF members might form a parliamentary group of their own after the elections. The group was reported to have the support of the French National Front (FN), the Dutch Party for Freedom (PVV), the Flemish Vlaams Belang (VB), the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ), the Sweden Democrats (SD), the Slovak National Party and the Italian Northern League (LN). The Danish People's Party, UK Independence Party (UKIP) and the Alternative for Germany refused to join the new alliance, while the more radical and anti-Semitic European nationalist parties such as National Democratic Party of Germany, the British National Party, Greek Golden Dawn and Hungarian Jobbik were not permitted to. [11] [12] [13] [14] Some media reports referred to the proposed group as the "Le Pen–Wilders alliance". [6] [15] [16] [17] In the election, the French FN performed very strongly, winning 24 seats, while the Slovak National Party failed to win a seat and the Sweden Democrats abstained from the alliance (instead joining Europe of Freedom and Democracy), leaving the FN, PVV, LN, FPÖ and VB as the only EAF member parties.

On 28 May, three days after the end of the elections, Le Pen, Wilders, Matteo Salvini (LN), Harald Vilimsky (FPÖ) and Gerolf Annemans (VB) appeared at a press conference in Brussels, claiming to be confident to find enough allies for forming a new group soon. [18] [19] News media reported about a competition between the proposed EAF group led by Le Pen and the existing Europe of Freedom and Democracy (EFD) group led by Nigel Farage of UKIP, both trying to win over support from newly represented Eurosceptic, right-wing and populist parties from different countries. While the FN and Wilders preferred to form one large group, including UKIP, the British Eurosceptics decidedly rejected the idea, branding Le Pen's party as too extreme. [20] [21] [22] Eventually, with MEPs from only five different member states, the proposed EAF group fell short of the parliament's requirement of seven member states to be represented in each group. Instead, their MEPs have continued to sit as Non-Inscrits . [17] [23] [24]

Structure

President

Vice president

General Secretary

Former members

Former members of the European Parliament

Former board members and other members

1 Morvai is associated with Jobbik while not being a formal member. She quit in July 2011, citing differences with the FPÖ. [37]
2 Paksas and Imbrasas later joined the Movement for a Europe of Liberties and Democracy (MELD)
3 Left to form Movement for a Europe of Nations and Freedom (MENL)

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Euroscepticism</span> Body of criticism of the European Union

Euroscepticism, also spelled as Euroskepticism or EU-scepticism, is a political position involving criticism of the European Union (EU) and European integration. It ranges from those who oppose some EU institutions and policies and seek reform, to those who oppose EU membership and see the EU as unreformable. The opposite of Euroscepticism is known as pro-Europeanism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Non-attached members</span> Members of the European Parliament not in a political group

Non-attached members are members of the European Parliament (MEPs) who do not belong to one of the recognised political groups.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gerard Batten</span> Former leader of the UK Independence Party

Gerard Joseph Batten is a British politician who served as the Leader of the UK Independence Party (UKIP) from 2018 to 2019. He was a founding member of the party in 1993, and served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for London from 2004 to 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Independence/Democracy</span> Former Eurosceptic political group of the European Parliament

Independence/Democracy (IND/DEM) was a Eurosceptic political group that operated in the European Parliament between 2004 and 2009. At its height in 2004, it had 37 MEPs and it only existed during the European Parliament's 6th term. It was affiliated with the Eurosceptic Europeans United for Democracy party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alan Sked</span> Former Leader of the UK Independence Party (born 1947)

Alan Sked is a British Eurosceptic academic. He founded the Anti-Federalist League and its successor the UK Independence Party (UKIP). He is Professor Emeritus of International History at the London School of Economics and has stood as a candidate in several parliamentary elections.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Campbell Bannerman</span> British Conservative Party politician (born 1960)

David Campbell Bannerman is a British politician who served as Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the East of England from 2009 to 2019. He is currently Chairman of the Conservative Democratic Organisation and The Freedom Association. A member of the Conservative Party, he previously served as Deputy Leader of UK Independence Party (UKIP) from 2006 until 2010, when he was replaced by Paul Nuttall.

The Hans-Peter Martin's List – For genuine control in Brussels was a populist and Eurosceptic political party in Austria. It had three seats in the European Parliament.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Europe of Freedom and Democracy</span> Former far-right political group of the European Parliament

Europe of Freedom and Democracy (EFD) was a far-right, Eurosceptic political group that operated in the European Parliament from 2009 to 2014. It was composed of 34 MEPs and it existed during the European Parliament's 7th and 8th terms. After 2011, EFD had a loose relationship with the Movement for a Europe of Liberties and Democracy political party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2014 European Parliament election</span> 2016 elections for the European parliament

The 2014 European Parliament election was held in the European Union (EU) between 22 and 25 May 2014. It was the 8th parliamentary election since the first direct elections in 1979, and the first in which the European political parties fielded candidates for President of the Commission.

Sharon Ellul-Bonici is a Maltese Eurosceptic politician.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2014 European Parliament election in the United Kingdom</span> Election

The 2014 European Parliament election was the United Kingdom's component of the 2014 European Parliament election, held on Thursday 22 May 2014, coinciding with the 2014 local elections in England and Northern Ireland. In total, 73 Members of the European Parliament were elected from the United Kingdom using proportional representation. England, Scotland and Wales use a closed-list party list system of PR, while Northern Ireland used the single transferable vote (STV).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alliance of European National Movements</span> Former far-right European political party

The Alliance of European National Movements (AENM) was a European political party that was formed in Budapest on 24 October 2009 by a number of ultranationalist and far-right parties from countries in Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Reform Conservatives</span> Political party in Austria

The Reform Conservatives was a conservative political party in Austria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Independence from Europe</span> Political party in the United Kingdom

Independence from Europe was a minor, Eurosceptic political party in the United Kingdom. The party was first registered in June 2012 but remained inactive until it was launched in October 2013 by sole party leader Mike Nattrass, a disaffected member of the UK Independence Party (UKIP). It had no official political representation at the time of its dissolution in November 2017, but previously had one Member of the European Parliament (MEP) and three Councillors, all of whom were once members of UKIP.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy</span> Former Eurosceptic political group of the European Parliament

Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy was a Eurosceptic and populist political group in the European Parliament. The EFDD group was a continuation for the Eighth European Parliament of the Europe of Freedom and Democracy (EFD) group that existed during the Seventh European Parliament, with significant changes to group membership.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Iwaszkiewicz</span> Polish politician (born 1962)

Robert Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz is a Polish politician of the KORWiN who was elected in May 2014 as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patriots.eu</span> Right-wing to far-right European political party

Patriots.eu, formerly known as the Identity and Democracy Party and the Movement for a Europe of Nations and Freedom (MENF), is a nationalist, right-wing populist and Eurosceptic European political party founded in 2014. Its Members of the European Parliament sat in the Europe of Nations and Freedom group from 2015 to 2019, then in the Identity and Democracy group between 2019 and 2024; following the 2024 European Parliament election, most of its MEPs sit within the Patriots for Europe group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Europe of Nations and Freedom</span> Former far-right political group of the European Parliament

Europe of Nations and Freedom was a far-right political group that operated in the European Parliament between 2015 and 2019. It was composed of 37 MEPs and only existed during the European Parliament's 8th term. Most of its MPs were members of the Movement for a Europe of Nations and Freedom political party.

The Movement is a Brussels-based right-wing populist organization founded by Steve Bannon of the United States to promote right-wing populist and economic nationalist groups in Europe that are opposed to the European Union governments and political structures of Europe. The organization was expected to hire 10 full-time staff in Brussels before the 2019 European Parliament election. In January 2017, Mischaël Modrikamen, leader of the People's Party in Belgium, officially registered the group.

Identity and Democracy was a far-right political group of the European Parliament, launched on 13 June 2019 for the Ninth European Parliament term. It comprised far right, right-wing populist, Eurosceptic and nationalist national parties from six European states. It was the successor to the Europe of Nations and Freedom group formed during the eighth term and almost all of its members merged into the Patriots for Europe group formed during the tenth term.

References

  1. 1 2 Grants from the European Parliament to political parties at European level 2004-2012 March 2012, European Parliament. Retrieved 12 September 2012.
  2. ↑ Bell, Bethany (4 April 2014), Far-right youth movement seeks 'Europe of Fatherlands', BBC News – Inside Europe Blog
  3. ↑ Wolfgang Sablatnig (30 June 2011), "Straches FPÖ mit Jobbik und Vlaams Belang in EU-Partei", Tiroler Tageszeitung (in German), retrieved 29 November 2011
  4. ↑ Nathalie Brack; Olivier Costa (2014). How the EU Really Works. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. p. 120. ISBN   978-1-4724-1465-6.
  5. ↑ Waterfield, Bruno (23 October 2013), "France's FN to team up with other far Right parties for European elections", The Daily Telegraph
  6. 1 2 de Lange, Sarah L.; Rooduijn, Matthijs; van Spanje, Joost (4 February 2014), "The 'Le Pen-Wilders' alliance will change European politics", Policy Network Observatory, policy-network.net
  7. 1 2 "Grants from the European Parliament to political parties at European level 2004-2011" (PDF). European Parliament. April 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  8. ↑ FPÖ-Abgeordneter steht an Spitze von EU-Rechtspartei DiePresse
  9. 1 2 3 About EAF, European Alliance for Freedom, archived from the original on 26 March 2012, retrieved 7 July 2011
  10. ↑ About EFF Archived 3 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine European Foundation for Freedom. Retrieved 30 November 2013
  11. ↑ Lahodynsky, Otmar (9 November 2013), "EU-Wahlen: Die nationalistische Internationale unter Führung der FPÖ", Profil Online (in German), archived from the original on 25 December 2013, retrieved 24 December 2013
  12. ↑ Webb, Sara (13 November 2013), "Le Pen, Wilders eye eurosceptic alliance for EU elections", Reuters
  13. ↑ Prodhan, Georgina (14 December 2013), "Austria's Freedom aims to enlarge Eurosceptic bloc", Reuters
  14. ↑ "The Anti Islamist Danish People's Party has surged above 20% | the Columnist". Archived from the original on 2 February 2014. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
  15. ↑ Mudde (11 February 2014), "The Le Pen-Wilders alliance and the European Parliament", The Washington Post
  16. ↑ Future of Le Pen-Wilders alliance still uncertain, EurActiv.com, 28 May 2014
  17. 1 2 "Le Pen and Wilders fail to form anti-EU bloc". BBC News. 24 June 2014.
  18. ↑ Charles Bremner (29 May 2014). "Le Pen party steals Farage's Italian allies". The Times.
  19. ↑ Kim Willsher; Lizzy Davies (28 May 2014). "Buoyant Le Pen seeks more allies for Eurosceptic group in Brussels". The Guardian.
  20. ↑ "Le Pen and Farage battle for partners to form group". Euractiv.com. 29 May 2014.
  21. ↑ Tony Cross (29 May 2014). "Ukip's Farage, Front National's Le Pen compete for Eurosceptic leadership … and EU cash". RFI English.
  22. ↑ Ophélie Spanneut (9 May 2014). "Le Pen and Farage competing to form groups" (PDF). Europolitics. No. 4864. p. 12.[ permanent dead link ]
  23. ↑ Kim Willsher; Ian Traynor (24 June 2014), "Marine Le Pen fails to form far-right bloc in European parliament", The Guardian
  24. ↑ Umberto Bacchi (24 June 2014). "Le Pen's Far-Right EU Parliament Alliance Fails at Start". International Business Times.
  25. ↑ "FPÖ MP is now the head of a EU legal party", Die Presse. (8 November 2012)
  26. ↑ "Die Flüchtlings -katastrophe auf dem Mittelmeer löst in Europa tiefe Erschütterung aus | European Alliance for Freedom". eurallfree.org. Archived from the original on 22 December 2017. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
  27. 1 2 3 4 5 "Mölzer wirkt in neuer EU-Rechtsaußenpartei mit", Der Standard (in German), 29 June 2011, retrieved 7 July 2011
  28. 1 2 "Press Conference: Aftermath of the elections, a future for the EU or a future for Europe?". European Alliance for Freedom. 28 May 2014. Archived from the original on 12 August 2015. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
  29. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Archived copy" (PDF). europarl.europa.eu. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 January 2018. Retrieved 15 January 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  30. ↑ France's Jean-Marie Le Pen joins European far-right alliance
  31. ↑ Protests at Austria far-right ball as Holocaust remembered, Euronews, 28 January 2012, archived from the original on 22 March 2019, retrieved 15 March 2012
  32. ↑ "Marine Le Pen: What she means for Europe", EuroNews, 21 February 2012
  33. ↑ Marine Le Pen en Autriche Archived 10 November 2017 at the Wayback Machine , Front National, 27 January 2012
  34. 1 2 "list of representatives of European Political Parties – a Freedom of Information request to European Parliament" (PDF). 31 January 2017. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
  35. 1 2 3 4 "list of representatives of European Political Parties – a Freedom of Information request to European Parliament". 31 January 2017. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
  36. 1 2 About EAF
  37. 1 2 Krisztina Morvai is quitting the European Alliance for Freedom Party Archived 29 December 2014 at the Wayback Machine , Hungarian Ambiance, 26 July 2011

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.