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| France's Le Pen announces far-right bloc of anti-EU MEPs | France's Le Pen announces far-right bloc of anti-EU MEPs |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| French National Front leader Marine Le Pen has announced she has formed a political group of far-right parties in the European Parliament. | French National Front leader Marine Le Pen has announced she has formed a political group of far-right parties in the European Parliament. |
| The anti-EU Europe of Nations and Freedoms bloc includes Hungary's Jobbik party and the Freedom Party of Dutch politician Geert Wilders. | The anti-EU Europe of Nations and Freedoms bloc includes Hungary's Jobbik party and the Freedom Party of Dutch politician Geert Wilders. |
| The grouping also has the support of UK MEP Janice Atkinson, expelled from UKIP in March over expenses claims. | The grouping also has the support of UK MEP Janice Atkinson, expelled from UKIP in March over expenses claims. |
| Forming the group will give far-right MEPs more influence in the parliament. | Forming the group will give far-right MEPs more influence in the parliament. |
| It will also mean that the new bloc's members have access to millions of euros in extra funding as well as more staff and speaking time. | |
| To be valid, a group needs 25 MEPs from at least seven different nationalities. | To be valid, a group needs 25 MEPs from at least seven different nationalities. |
| 'European resistance' | |
| Mr Wilders said that the formation was a "historic moment". | Mr Wilders said that the formation was a "historic moment". |
| "Today it's the beginning of our liberation, our D-Day," he told reporters, adding that the new bloc would be the voice of the new "European resistance", defending their countries' sovereignty. The anti-Islam leader said the bloc would fight mass immigration as well as "Islamisation". | "Today it's the beginning of our liberation, our D-Day," he told reporters, adding that the new bloc would be the voice of the new "European resistance", defending their countries' sovereignty. The anti-Islam leader said the bloc would fight mass immigration as well as "Islamisation". |
| Eurosceptic and far-right parties made gains in last year's European Parliament elections, in what France's PM Manuel Valls called a "political earthquake". | |
| Until now the National Front (FN) has struggled to find members from enough countries to form a group. | Until now the National Front (FN) has struggled to find members from enough countries to form a group. |
| But it secured support from MEPs in Italy's Northern League, Austria's Freedom Party, Vlaams Belang from Belgium and the Polish Congress of the New Right. | |
| 'Anti-Semitism' | |
| The FN leader was praised at Tuesday's news conference by Ms Atkinson, who said Ms Le Pen was "leading the offence" against what was happening in the European Union. | |
| Ms Atkinson was expelled by UKIP for "bringing the party into disrepute" amid newspaper allegations that a member of her staff tried to arrange a false receipt for a meal. | |
| UKIP has previously said it was "not interested in any deal" with Ms Le Pen or her party because of "prejudice and anti-Semitism in particular" in the FN. | |
| UKIP leader Nigel Farage already heads a rival anti-immigration alliance in the European Parliament called the Europe of Freedom and Democracy Group (EFDD). | |
| FN founder Jean-Marie Le Pen, who was suspended from the party last month over his comments that the Holocaust was "a detail of history", is not part of the new Europe of Nations and Freedoms group. FN MEP Bruno Gollnisch is also not a member, according to reports. | |
| Meanwhile the three MEPs from Greece's far-right Golden Dawn party remain unattached to a political group in the European Parliament. |