The far-right “Patriots for Europe” alliance created by Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán has become the third-largest group in the European Parliament. Orbán presented the alliance of his Fidesz party with the Austrian Freedom Party and the Czech ANO party on June 30 in Vienna, the day before Hungary took over the European Union’s rotating presidency for six months. By July 7, the alliance had gained enough members to form an official group; joined by right-wing parties from the Netherlands, France, Spain, and Portugal. The group now has 84 MEPs under the leadership of Orbán. The establishment of this group comes as Orbán faces harsh criticism from the EU over his stances related to Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine as well as his surprise visits to Russia and meetings with Putin this month.   

“What Europeans want is three things: peace, order and development,” Orban said through an interpreter on June 30 in Vienna, “And what they are getting from the elite in Brussels today is war, migration and stagnation.” The “patriotic manifesto for a European future” establishing Orbán’s alliance with the other party leaders is critical of “a European central state”, and instead promises “to prioritize sovereignty over federalism, freedom over diktats, and peace.” In a statement, Vlaams Belang Chairman Tom Van Grieken said, “As right-wing, patriotic and nationalist parties, we stand strong together in Europe. We have more in common than what divides us.”  Daniel Hegedüs, a senior fellow for central Europe at the German Marshall Fund, told The Parliament regarding the potential influence of the new far-right group, “It’s a relative success for the Hungarian prime minister, because he was able to demonstrate again that he’s a trendsetter. He influences key, high-level European processes”.

The European Parliament elections held in early June had strengthened far-right, nationalist parties overall, though the extent to which they would work together was unclear, given that the parties had been spread between different groups or left unaligned. Whilst the Patriots are the third-largest group in the European Parliament, they only make up 12 percent of the 720 seats. The group is behind the EPP, with 188 seats, and the center-left Socialists & Democrats, with 136 seats. “With that proportion, they would certainly not be in the situation to be able to block anything,” Hegedüs said. Hegedüs does point out that the Patriots could have more influence outside of parliament through the European Council and the Council of the EU, which is currently chaired by Hungary. At the national level, the potential rise of the far-right parties of member states will also be influential. “It’s a source of influence, even if they are definitely far below a blocking minority,” Hegedüs said.  

Whilst the Patriots are unified on issues such as migration to Europe, with the far-right in agreement to tighten borders, there may be policy differences within the group over the ongoing Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. Spain’s Vox and the Party for Freedom from the Netherlands have positioned themselves as pro-Ukraine. However, Orbán has consistently gone against most other European leaders on issues such as Ukraine and relations with Russia and China, often delaying or blocking related key decisions and aid to Ukraine. Orbán’s stances have isolated many other leaders in the bloc. This month, Orbán’s recent trip to Moscow and meetings with Putin on a “peace mission” have drawn harsh criticism from the European Parliament. 

During her speech to MEPs on July 18, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen criticized Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán over his recent trip to Russia. “Two weeks ago, a European prime minister went to Moscow,” von der Leyen said. “This peace mission was nothing but an appeasement mission,” she said. Whilst Hungary’s six-month presidency of the EU places Budapest in charge of organizing meetings, Orbán is not permitted to conduct diplomacy on behalf of the entire European Union. In a resolution on Wednesday, the European Parliament condemned Orbán’s visit to Russia as “a blatant violation of the EU’s Treaties and common foreign policy”. Furthermore, the resolution states that the EU assembly “considers that this violation should be met with repercussions for Hungary”.