While other political forces have already launched their campaigns for June’s EU elections, the hard-right conservative faction has just started and is eyeing collaboration with the centre-right European People’s Party.
The right-wing to far-right European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group presented on Thursday (21 March) ‘A Charter for Conservative Values’. The group opposes ‘wokism’, praises the ‘traditional family’, and seeks to preserve ‘Judeo-Christian values’.
“Our aim here is to rewrite our own constitution in terms of values so that during the European elections, people will know who the European conservatives are and what they do for the future of the European Union,” said Nicola Procaccini, co-chair of the ECR Group in the European Parliament, in his opening statement.
These values will feed into the ECR party electoral manifesto, which will be agreed on 17 April in Brussels during a high-level meeting with representatives from all 14 national delegations.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and her party, Fratelli d’Italia (FdI), will be key figures and influences in the drafting process.
Craving a friendship with the centre-right
According to Procaccini, a member of FdI, the manifesto will reflect views similar to the EPPs. He also expressed satisfaction that the centre-right party has moved towards a more conservative stance, leaving the Socialists and Greens behind.
“We are very happy that the EPP now thinks the same as us (…) we think that all together we can remove some errors from the Green Deal, and jointly we can have a more balanced ecological transition,” said Procaccini.
Meanwhile, the EPP’s manifesto has adopted a stronger stance on migration, and the party’s lawmakers in the European Parliament have also toned down ambitions on the EU’s Green agenda, voting against landmark files such as the Nature Restoration Law.
The EPP’s election lead candidate, current Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, has also indicated interest in allying with ECR members, showing a more conservative side than during her five-year mandate.
Despite von der Leyen suggesting that some ECR delegations could merge with the EPP and the Italian centre-right Forza Italia wanting Fratelli d’Italia to join, Procaccini, a member of Meloni’s party, rejected the idea.
“This is impossible because we lead our family, a family with strong roots, strong tradition, we don’t want to go away from that,” he said.
Moreover, the EPP’s position is quite far from the ECR’s views on key topics such as civil rights.
Centre-right leaders have also made it very clear that they seek to maintain a majority with the Socialists (S&D) and the Liberals (Renew Europe).
Nevertheless, according to Proaccini, “now is the moment” for conservative forces to have a larger impact on EU policies by looking to build on the success of the EPP across the EU and pointing out that the party will dominate the next Commission.
Stop demonising Orbán
Asked about the controversial prospect of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his party Fidesz joining ECR, Procaccini blamed left-wing parties for trying to divide the right-wing forces and “demonising” Orbán, alongside Meloni and EPP’s President Manfred Weber.
“I don’t know if they [Fidesz] will request the elections. If they do, we will have a meeting and have to choose,” he added, arguing that Orbán has not formally requested to join yet.
A “Judeo-Christian” chart of values
ECR group officials gathered on 21 March in Subiaco, Italy, to discuss their vision for conservative values and to ensure the “preservation of Judeo-Christian roots,” Procaccini said.
Their charter reflects their main conviction of a decentralised Europe: “While valuing cooperation among European nations, limiting any undue interference is essential for maintaining the unique cultural and historical identities of our member states and guaranteeing national sovereignty.”
Close to their faith-based morals are their family values, which the ECR believes are the bedrock of society. Gender theories and wokism are a distraction, they say and they want Europe to focus on the “issues that truly affect our communities.”
While the Conservatives claim they support environmentalism and the balance of ecosystems, they lament that the current “mainstream green agenda” excludes humans from the equation, and they will strive “for the development of pragmatic, science-based policies that recognise the central role of people.”
[Edited by Aurélie Pugnet/Rajnish Singh/Alice Taylor]
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