The Bulgarian party "Revival" (Vazrazhdane) is set to join a newly formed group in the European Parliament alongside Germany's far-right party "Alternative for Germany" (AfD), according to a report from Spiegel. This coalition is emerging as a bloc of pro-Putin representatives within the European Parliament.
Earlier this year, "Identity and Democracy", a right-wing group that includes Marine Le Pen's "National Rally", expelled AfD due to revelations about Russian financial backing and the party leaders' vocal pro-Russian stance. AfD currently has 14 MEPs in the new parliament.
In response, AfD is now in the process of establishing a new group. Internal emails, as reported by Spiegel, reveal requests for a venue and catering for 100 people to formalize this new alliance.
Joining the initiative alongside MEPs Stanislav Stoyanov, Petar Volgin, and Rada Laikova from "Revival" are other parties including Diana Șoșoacă's Romanian "S.O.S. Romania", the Spanish "The Party is Over", Greek party "NIKI" ("Victory"), Poland's "Confederation Liberty and Independence", Slovakia's "Republic Movement", and Hungary's "Our Homeland" Movement.
According to Spiegel, the new group is likely to be named "Sovereignists".
The primary agenda of this coalition is advocating for increased autonomy for member states and reducing the influence of Brussels bureaucracy. Another significant goal is to achieve a resolution to the conflict in Ukraine through peace negotiations. The rhetoric of these parties suggests a stance favoring Ukraine accepting Russian demands, including territorial concessions and abandoning aspirations to join NATO and the EU.