Patriots for Europe

Patriots for Europe (PfE or Patriots) is a right-wing to far-right sovereigntist political group, formed as the third-largest group ahead of the tenth European Parliament.
The group includes all but one member from the Identity and Democracy group and members from other groups. The group could also coordinate the work of its members at the European Council and the Council of the European Union.
Fidesz had been unaffiliated at the European level since leaving the European People's Party Group (EPP Group) in March 2021. ANO MEPs belonged to the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party and its affiliated Renew Europe group since 2011, but left both organisations after the 2024 European Parliament elections, citing disagreements with the party's programme. The Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) belonged to the far-right Identity and Democracy (ID) group during the ninth term (2019–2024).
On 30 June 2024, the founding of the group was announced at a press conference in Vienna by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán (Fidesz), former Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (ANO 2011), and former Austrian Minister of the Interior Herbert Kickl and MEP Harald Vilimsky (both Freedom Party of Austria). Representatives of the three founding parties signed "A Patriotic Manifesto for a European Future", setting out the alliance's ideological positions, including weakening the EU, a focus on European cultural identity, opposition to illegal immigration, and a revision of the European Green Deal.
On 1 July, the nationalist Portuguese party Chega, with two MEPs, became the fourth member of the Patriots for Europe. On 5 July, the Spanish Vox party also joined, leaving the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group. The same day, the Dutch Party for Freedom (PVV), formerly part of the ID Group, also announced it would join. On 6 July, the Danish People's Party and Vlaams Belang, both part of the ID group, announced they would also join, bringing the group above the minimum number of member states required for an official European Parliament group. On 8 July, the National Rally (RN) and Lega were announced as new members of the group. The prerequisite for establishing a political group of the European Parliament is the membership of at least 23 MEPs from at least seven EU member states. The alliance met this criterion on 6 July 2024. According to Le Monde, the RN waited until after the second round of the 2024 French legislative election for the announcement "for fear of reviving suspicion of pro-Russian sympathies".
During the formation process, parties previously speculated as possible members of the new EU Group included:
On 8 July, Jordan Bardella, president of the French National Rally (RN), was named as the group's president.
The Polish Confederation's National Movement, which won two MEPs, announced in July 2024 that it was in negotiations with Patriots for Europe, while the three Confederation MEPs from New Hope joined the ESN group, and the one Confederation of the Polish Crown MEP was not seeking to join. Ultimately, the National Movement joined Patriots for Europe on 1 October.
Group bureau during the 10th European Parliament.