The European Free Alliance (EFA) party, while low on seats and waning in voting intentions, aims to bring the voices of national minorities and stateless nations into the EU debate by fielding two top candidates who will campaign across the continent to “spread the ideas” of self-determination, the party’s newly elected top candidates told Euractiv.
EFA, a party that defends the interests of regionalists, separatists and national minorities at the EU level, presented its two top candidates for the EU elections on 14 October. These include Raül Romeva, a member of the separatist Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC) party, and Maylis Rossberg, a member of the SSW party, representing the Danish minority in Germany.
The party, which seeks to represent “voiceless nations and peoples”, encompasses political forces from traditionally nationalist regions such as Catalonia, Scotland, Brittany, and Corsica, among others.
None of the candidates, however, will be running for a seat. Romeva was suspended from holding public office until 2030 after his involvement in Catalonia’s self-determination referendum, deemed illegal by Spanish authorities.
As for Rossberg’s party, it is too small to get enough votes to pass the threshold needed in Germany.
“From now on, we are going to be visiting some [regional] parties, some states, some members, some nations, some cities, some peoples, to both listen and explain what our basic guidelines and principles are and to explain what we do expect from Europe’, Rossberg said.
Rather than seeking to win seats, which the party knows will be difficult, EFA’s campaign aims to bring neglected ideas into the EU election debate, mainly promoting self-determination, minority rights, and linguistic and cultural diversity.
“What is important for us is that some messages, words, and concepts are on the campaign. For instance, nobody will talk about self-determination if we don’t do it”, Rossberg said.
Left and right together for self-determination
EFA’s current representation seats in the European Parliament are divided between the left-wing Greens/EFA (7) group and the right-wing European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group (3).
The party’s two majority forces showcase the ideological split. While Catalonia’s ERC is left-wing and sits with the Greens, Nieuwe Vlaamse Alliance is conservative and sits with ECR.
The party used to have an extra MEP from Latvia’s Russian minority party, LKS, and sat with the Non-Inscrits due to ideological differences with the rest of the EFA members. LKS’s pro-Russian views resulted in its membership being suspended after Russia’s war against Ukraine began.
Regardless of left or right, all parties in the EFA share a common approach and values, “and this common approach has to do with self-determination and fundamental rights,” Romeva said, while playing down the party’s internal differences, adding that “diversity is normal because people in Europe are very plural.”
“This happens everywhere. Look at the socialist family, the liberal family, or the EPP”, he added.
Future prospects
As for the party’s chances of success, the latest projections show that the EFA is on a slight downward trend, as it could lose two seats in the European Parliament.
While the Flemish nationalist Nieuwe Vlaamse Alliance, which sits with the ECR in the European Parliament, would keep its three members, the ERC, the Bloque Nacionalista Galego and the Union Démocratique Bretonne would each lose one. On top of that, the party lost one seat due to the suspension of Latvia’s LKS membership.
Still, “it’s very, very, very unrealistic to predict what can happen now,” Romeva affirmed, arguing that the EFA has eight months to construct a narrative to convince voters and “provide answers to a lot of questions” people have.
*Parties and seats missing in the infographic: selection criteria to be included is 1% or more in the national polling average, one seat or more in seat projection or one seat or more in the current European Parliament configuration. Independent MEPs are not included (3).
**EFA candidates may take advantage of threshold exemptions for minority parties or join alliances led by other parties to increase their chances of winning representatives in the European election.
***LKS (Latvia) is omitted based on their current suspension from EFA.
(Max Griera | Euractiv.com)
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