STVR | New group in the European Parliament

MEPs from 14 right-leaning parties have joined the political group Patriots for Europe in the European Parliament. From the Czech Republic, they were joined by MEPs from the ANO movement and two MEPs from the Přísaha a Motoristé party. They could become the third strongest political group in the European Parliament. Viktor Daněk, deputy director of EUROPEUM Institute, commented on this.

To a large extent, the new faction has dragged in the former far-right Identity and Democracy faction, and until now in European politics it has been the rule that you don't cooperate with the far right, and it is therefore very likely that the new Patriots for Europe faction will suffer a similar fate, i.e. that the other main political groups will refuse to cooperate with them, which will fundamentally limit the influence of this faction, at least in the European Parliament. 

Listen to the full interview here.

Viktor Daněk
Deputy Director

Before entering the NGO sphere, Viktor Daněk worked for almost ten years as a journalist. During his time with the public service Czech radio, he focused mainly on covering EU affairs. He spent almost five years as a permanent correspondent in Brussels, where he cooperated with other media outlets. Before his career in journalism, he gained experience in the area of marketing and communication in the Česká spořitelna banking group and at the Czech Technical University in Prague. He holds university degrees in Media Studies and International Relations. Viktor Daněk joined the EUROPEUM Institute for European Policy in October 2023. He continues to be active in the media as a freelancer. His main areas of interest are institutional questions of European integration, globalisation and the EU’s climate and migration policy.