| European Parliament group | |
 | |
| English abbr. | ID |
|---|---|
| Formal name | Identity and Democracy Group |
| Ideology | |
| Political position | Far-right[10] |
| European parties | Identity and Democracy Party |
| From | 13 June 2019 |
| To | 8 July 2024 |
| Preceded by | Europe of Nations and Freedom |
| Succeeded by | Patriots for Europe (majority) Europe of Sovereign Nations (minority) |
| Chaired by | Marco Zanni |
| Website | www.idgroup.eu (archive) |
Identity and Democracy (ID; French:Identité et démocratie) was apolitical group of the European Parliament during theNinth European Parliament term, launched on 13 June 2019. It comprisedfar-right,[11]right-wing populist,Eurosceptic andnationalist national parties from six European states.[1] It was the successor to theEurope of Nations and Freedom group formed during theeighth term and almost all of its members merged into thePatriots for Europe group formed during thetenth term.
In April 2019, theDanish People's Party and theFinns Party (at the time members of theEuropean Conservatives and Reformists) announced their intention to form a new grouping withAlternative for Germany, formerly of theECR,ENF andEFDD groups, and Italy'sLeague following the 2019 elections.[12] AfD spokesmanJörg Meuthen appeared alongsideNorthern League leaderMatteo Salvini to formally announce the formation of the new European political alliance with the Finns Party and Danish People's Party which was provisionally namedEuropean Alliance for People and Nations.[13]
On 12 June 2019, it was announced that the group would be named "Identity and Democracy" (ID), include Italy'sLeague (LSP), the FrenchNational Rally (RN) andAlternative for Germany as member parties, and be a successor to theEurope of Nations and Freedom (ENF).[14] TheFinns Party also joined the group.[15] Lega MEPMarco Zanni was announced as the new group's chairman.[16] The group, composed at that time of 73 MEPs, was launched inBrussels by RN leaderMarine Le Pen on 13 June 2019. It was expanded to include former ENF membersVlaams Belang and theFreedom Party of Austria, as well the newFreedom and Direct Democracy (SPD) party from the Czech Republic and theConservative People's Party of Estonia (EKRE).[6][5] Ahead of the 2019 European Parliament elections, the group held joint rallies in different European cities and developed coordinated campaign materials, including joint election videos and shared social media platforms.[17]
The DutchParty for Freedom (PVV) failed to secure any seats at the election; however, it gained one in thepost-Brexit apportionment of seats. Before Brexit occurred, Party leaderGeert Wilders stated his intention to align the PVV with ID, provided that the post-Brexit apportionment was confirmed by theEuropean Council.[18][19] PVV MEPMarcel de Graaff subsequently took the seat, but in 2022 defected to theForum for Democracy, citing his support for the FvD's policies against the COVID-19 vaccine. The FvD accordingly changed its affiliation from the ECR group to Identity and Democracy.
In 2023, the FvD was suspended from the group after de Graaf shared messages onTwitter supportive of Putin following theRussian invasion of Ukraine and later quit the group citing difference in views on the matter.[20][21]
The group's political platform is defined byEuroscepticism,nativism, and opposition toglobalization. Its primary objective is to resist uncontrolled migration to the European Union and to dismantle the EU’s supranational framework, advocating instead for its transformation into an intergovernmental organization composed of sovereign nation-states.[17]
Although political commentators have noted the group contains members who have called for Europe to open up relations with Putin's government, the group has taken a pro-Ukraine stance and voted in support of a motion in the European Parliament to condemn "Russian aggression against Ukraine" following the Russian invasion of the country.[22]
In April 2023, theFinns Party changed membership to theEuropean Conservatives and Reformists group citing their change in policy to support NATO membership as the reason for the move.[23]
Ahead of the2024 European Parliament election, AfD lead candidateMaximilian Krah made controversial statements on theWaffen-SS in an interview which was met with anger within the group.[24] In response, National Rally spokespeopleJordan Bardella andCaroline Parmentier announced they would part ways withAlternative for Germany after the election and not include the AfD in the group due to Krah's remarks and allegations of Chinese espionage influence on the party.[25][26] The League's leaderMatteo Salvini and the CzechFreedom and Direct Democracy subsequently backed the position taken by the National Rally, with both parties saying they would terminate collaboration with the AfD after the election.[27][28]Vlaams Belang criticized Krah's statements with VB MEPGerolf Annemans calling Krah "increasingly problematic" but declined to immediately expel and cut cooperation with AfD, instead arguing that they would wait until after the election before making a decision.[29] The Danish People's Party issued an ultimatum that the AfD could only remain in the ID group on the condition of Krah's expulsion with MEPAnders Vistisen stating that the AfD should purge extremist elements if the two parties were to keep working together.[30] The PortugueseChega, a member of the ID Party, described the RN’s decision as a “game changer” and suggested it would now consider joining theEuropean Conservatives and Reformists group or a new merged European Parliament group.[31] The EstonianEKRE and the AustrianFPÖ supported removing Krah but opposed the expulsion of the entire AfD faction. After an internal meeting and vote, the Identity and Democracy board subsequently voted in favour of ejecting the AfD, with group leaderMarco Zanni citing Krah's interview, as well as reports of Chinese and Russian influence on the AfD. The AfD consequently moved tonon-inscrits.[32][33] Following the decision, the AfD said that Krah would not be permitted to sit with the AfD faction in the European Parliament after the election and that they would negotiate to rejoin Identity and Democracy.[34] However, AfD failed in a bid to rejoin, with ID leaders making the decision not to re-admit the party.[35]
On 28 June, Freedom and Direct Democracy announced it would leave the group to form a new group called "Europe of Sovereign Nations", citing disagreements with other ID members on theEuropean Green Deal, immigration, censorship and Ukraine.[36] This new group is described as being led by the AfD.[37]
On 30 June, the Freedom Party of Austria also announced it would leave ID to form a new group called "Patriots for Europe", alongsideFidesz andANO 2011.[38] Shortly after, Chega, a member of the ID Party, also announced it would join "Patriots for Europe" instead of the ID group.[citation needed] The DutchParty for Freedom's leader,Geert Wilders, also announced his party would join the new group,[citation needed] followed by theDanish People's Party andVlaams Belang, which both said they would also join.[39] The League stated that it was strongly considering joining,[40] while the National Rally entered "advanced talks" to discuss joining.[41]
On 8 July 2024, the League and the National Rally also left the group to join Patriots for Europe.[42]
In July 2025 a leaked internal parliamentary audit[43] suggested far-right parties may have spent millions in EU funds improperly.[44] An investigation into alleged misuse of funds by – meanwhile defunct –Identity and Democracy was launched by theEuropean Public Prosecutor’s Office.[45][46]
The group lists its core priorities as protecting European cultural heritage and the sovereignty of European nations, creating jobs and growth, increasing security, stopping illegal immigration, regulating legal immigration, fighting EU bureaucracy and preventing what it describes as the potential Islamisation of Europe. Identity and Democracy also opposes the possibleaccession of Turkey to the European Union.[47] The group calls for a Europe based on cooperation and further reforms of the EU through "more transparency and accountability" at Brussels, but rejects any further evolution towards aEuropean Superstate.[48] Political commentators have variously described Identity and Democracy asnationalist,right-wing populist,anti-immigrant,[1] andEurosceptic, although the group emphasises itself assovereigntist as opposed to "anti-European".[2]
| State | National party | European party | MEPs[49] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Austria | Freedom Party of Austria Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs(FPÖ) | ID Party | 3 / 19 | |
 Belgium | Flemish Interest Vlaams Belang(VB) | ID Party | 3 / 21 | |
 Czech Republic | Freedom and Direct Democracy Svoboda a přímá demokracie(SPD) | ID Party | 1 / 21 | |
 Denmark | Danish People's Party Dansk Folkeparti(DF) | None | 1 / 14 | |
 Estonia | Conservative People's Party of Estonia Eesti Konservatiivne Rahvaerakond(EKRE) | ID Party | 1 / 7 | |
 France | National Rally Rassemblement national(RN) | ID Party | 18 / 79 | |
 Italy | League Lega | ID Party | 22 / 76 | |
 European Union | Total | 49 / 705 | ||
| State | National party | European party | New group | MEPs[49] | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Finland | Finns Party Perussuomalaiset | None | ECR | 2 / 14 | ||
 Germany | Alternative for Germany Alternative für Deutschland(AfD) | ID Party | NI | 9 / 96 | ||
 Netherlands | Forum for Democracy Forum voor Democratie (FvD) | None | NI | 1 / 29 | ||
| President | Took office | Left office | Country (Constituency) | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marco Zanni | .jpg) | 2 July 2019 | 8 July 2024 | Italy (North-West) | Lega |
Group bureau during the 9th European Parliament.[50]
| Position | Name | Country | Party |
|---|---|---|---|
| President | Marco Zanni | Italy | Lega |
| Vice-President | Jordan Bardella | France | National Rally |
The far-right grouping in the newly elected European Parliament has taken the name Identity and Democracy, in a sign of the growing influence of "identitarian" supremacist politics.
Members of thefar-right Identity and Democracy Group have said no to more defense integration
Officials from Marine Le Pen's movement are in advanced talks with other far-right groups in the European Parliament that could see her party abandon its current political family to join forces with Hungary's Viktor Orban.
Media related toIdentity and Democracy at Wikimedia Commons