EU funds that were misused by the identity and democracy (ID) of the far-right group of the European Parliament during the previous semester must be repaid more than 4 million euros by European Patriots (PFE) groups.
According to the Capitol Financial Services (DG FIN), the ID group, which includes the French Lacemberment National and Italian leagues, mistakenly spent 333 635.78 for at least 4 euros in the EU fund between 2019 and 2024.
The suspicious irregularity was first flagged in February, and the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) began investigating the topic.
Currently, the Cont Committee suggests that PFE groups, including former ID members Rassemblement National and The League, as well as Fidesz, Hungarian and Vox, who were not members of ID, should be held responsible for this alleged misuse.
The opinions drafted by the committee’s chairman, Niklas Herbst (EPP), were approved by the majority of the committee.
Congress’s Legal and Financial Services recommends that you consider the possibility of bringing a civil lawsuit against an external auditor who has certified an ID group account.
But it also emphasizes that Parliament can “pursuit of an entity that is a substantial economic continuity of the original debtor,” thereby turning its fingers to European patriot groups.
“We hope Congress will collect all the funds,” Herbst told Euronows. He explains that the Cont Committee cannot determine whether the PFE group is a “successor” to the ID group, but it can suggest that “economic continuity” be applied.
“We don’t want any group to rebrand themselves and escape responsibility,” said the German MEP.
According to Congressional rules, political groups should be treated as “successors” of disbanded and therefore are liable for the remaining debts – if some terms apply.
Of these, “the decisive share of members of the previous group has moved to a new formation”, “the facilities, IT systems, bank accounts, or other assets passed to the new structure”, and “new names and public messaging that presents the entities as direct heirs of the decommissioned group, appear to be primarily designed for rebranding.
The opinion argues that continuity between the ID group and the PFE group is evident given that “the group’s executive director and several senior staff members have disbanded, with a considerable majority of former ID members sitting in the PFE.”
It also argues that there is a clear continuity between ID and patriots. This is a different entity from the political groups of parliament, but includes the same political parties.
“A European political party, previously registered as the “Identit Et Démocratie Parti” (ID Party), has recently changed its sect of (…) to “Patriots.eu”, thereby confirming the legal continuity between the two parties.”
After the Cont Committee vote, no confirmation is required across Congress. The final decision on whether to hold PFE Group liable for misuse of ID funds will be made by the Congressional Bureau, consisting of President Robertametosora, 14 Vice Presidents and five quests.
In a statement shared on its social network, the Patriots Group for Europe named its opinion “Unfounded Witch Hunt.”
“The absurd claim that patriots are legal successors to the ID group is baseless and politically motivated,” commented PFE coordinator Tamas Germany.
