Austrian far-right hopes to join EU parliamentary faction

Vienna — Austria’s far-right Freedom Party (FPOe) announced Sunday it could soon join the European parliament’s right-wing faction UEN, following a meeting of far-right parties in Vienna.

MEP Mogens Camre said at the meeting that he and his Danish People’s Party would lobby for the FPOe to join the Union for Europe of the Nations, FPOe leader Heinz-Christian Strache announced in a statement.

"The (UEN) faction is currently the fourth strongest in the European parliament but with the help of the FPOe, it could become the third strongest after EU elections in June," Strache said.

The FPOe, known for its anti-EU stance, had invited right-wing representatives from Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, Serbia and Switzerland to discuss cross-national cooperation between the various parties.

Among those attending the Vienna meeting were MEPs Camre, Philip Claeys of the Flemish party Vlaams Belang and Bruno Gollnisch of France’s Front National.

"We were able to reach agreement on central matters, most of all that Europe is and must be more than the European Union," said Strache.

"We all see the Lisbon Treaty as a major problem but Turkey’s accession is also a great threat for Europe," he added.

The FPOe had already sought to create a broad new European "patriotic" party last year with the French Front National, Bulgaria’s Attaca party and Belgium’s Vlaams Belang.

AFP/Expatica