The group of European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) of the European Parliament, led by Giorgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party, has integrated two of the three MEPs from The Party is Over (SALF), leaving out its leader, Luis Alvise Pérezwho has assured that he plans to enter in January. However, ECR management has immediately clarified that it will not make any decision on Alvise’s incorporation into its ranks until the court cases in which he is involved are resolved, and not necessarily in January.
For the moment, his coreligionists Nora Junco y Diego Solier Yes, they have entered ECR on an individual basis, and not as members of SALF, with which the parliamentary group now has 80 members, but remains the fourth force in the European Parliament, behind the alliance of Patriots for Europepromoted by the Prime Minister of Hungary, Viktor Orbanand in which appears Vox. An internal notification on the administration of the political groups indicates that Junco and Solier leave the bench of the Not Registeredin which they appeared since the beginning of the legislature in mid-July, and join ECR with effect from this same December 18.
Signs of irregular financing
Asked by Efe, Alvise Pérez assured that his entry has not been possible now because the advisory committee on the conduct of MEPs had yet to resolve an audience with the Spanish MEP in which he asked him about his declaration of private interestsa mandatory document in which Pérez does not reveal the money he receives in donations as a “self-employed political analyst and consultant.” And he assumed that the leadership of the ultra-conservative group would approve his entry into the meeting held during the plenary session of the European Parliament from January 20 to 23.
But sources from the parliamentary group are more cautious and avoid setting deadlines: “We are aware of the police investigations underway involving Alvise Pérez. In light of this, ECR has decided to wait for the result before making any final decision regarding its entry into the group. Anticorruption Prosecutor’s Office maintains that there are “sufficient” indications that Alvise could have committed a irregular financing crime for allegedly obtaining 100.000 euros from a businessman for his campaign and for “successive anonymous donations” of unknown origin.
Alvise, “exemplary”
The SALF MEP was convinced that the doubts of the European Parliament “are resolved” by showing them a Treasury document “that certifies its exemplarity“and expects that the leadership of the ultra-conservative group will approve his entry at the meeting held during the plenary session of the European Parliament between January 20 and 23.
In a statement, ECR did not make any reference to Alvise’s situation, but did confirm the entry of Junco and Solier, who in its opinion “reinforce the group’s commitment to economic freedom, sovereignty, agile government and good governance.” “. “They not only bring valuable experience, but also a clear vision of a strong and free Europe. Their accession will undoubtedly enrich our work in the European Parliament. The ECR group remains firm in its principle that ‘Europe must do less, but do it better’,” said one of the ECR leaders, the Italian Nicola Procaccini.
Declaration of principles
For ECR, it is basic that its members align with the values contained in the Prague Declarationan agreement signed in 2013 and that includes principles such as “the importance of the family” as the basis of society, the defense of the sovereignty and integrity of nation states, freedom of enterprise and strict control of immigration. Another of the basic principles of this group is “transatlantic security” through a “revitalized” NATO and support for Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression.
ECR is currently the fourth largest group in the European Parliament, with 80 deputies after the addition of the two SALF MEPs, and its two largest national delegations are that of the Meloni Brothers of Italy and the Polish Law and Justicewith 24 and 20 representatives, respectively. Those who are no longer part of that group are the Vox MEPs, who left ECR to join the Patriots for Europe, the far-right group promoted by Orbán and the Frenchwoman’s party family. Marine Le Pen which has become the third largest in the European Parliament.
