Can Pragmatic Right-Wingers Reign in EU’s Climate Obsession?
Despite their best efforts in 2024, the liberal-Globalist establishment in Brussels found itself unable to halt the meteoric rise of right-wing parties across Europe, which are now asserting themselves as a formidable political force.
Among the most notable manifestations of this momentum is the Patriots for Europe group in the European Parliament, led by prominent figures such as Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella from France’s National Rally; Viktor Orbán, the Prime Minister of Hungary (Fidesz); Geert Wilders of the Dutch PVV; Italy’s Matteo Salvini of Lega; Herbert Kickl, head of Austria’s Freedom Party; Santiago Abascal of Spain’s Vox; and Andre Ventura from Portugal’s Chega.
⭐️ | One year of Patriots in the European Parliament! 365 days standing strong for sovereignty, secure borders, common sense, and a Europe of proud nations. The future belongs to the #Patriots! pic.twitter.com/ttJvtYSyuV
— Patriots for Europe (@PatriotsEP) July 8, 2025
In February, during a meeting in Madrid, Orbán boldly laid out the new path for Europe.
France24 reported:
“Yesterday we were the heretics. Today we are the mainstream… We are the future,” proclaimed Orbán, sharing the stage with other leading far-right nationalists including the Dutch anti-Islam firebrand Geert Wilders, Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, and former Czech Premier Andrej Babis.
Both Orbán and Le Pen hailed Trump’s ‘tornado’ as a beacon for the EU’s future, which they jointly criticized as plagued by ‘climate fanaticism,’ ‘illegal immigration,’ and ‘excessive regulation.’
“We’re facing a truly global tipping point. Hurricane Trump is sweeping across the United States,” Le Pen remarked. “Meanwhile, the European Union appears to be in a state of shock.”
This so-called ‘state of shock’ in Brussels has only intensified with the realization that the Patriots for Europe group will spearhead negotiations regarding the EU’s new climate targets, sending waves of panic through the corridors of power.
Those on the left are already wringing their hands at the prospect of these pragmatic right-wingers potentially dismantling the bloc’s previously ambitious aim to ‘reduce greenhouse emissions by 90% by 2040.’
Euronews reported:
“The Patriots got the climate legislation file,” Iratxe Garcia, leader of the socialist group, disclosed at a press conference on the sidelines of the plenary in Strasbourg. “They’ve secured the rapporteurship… It is indeed the patriots who will be leading the negotiations.”
The European Commission has proposed altering its radical Climate Law by establishing a new target to cut the EU’s net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 90% by 2040.
Thus, the EU Parliament and the council will engage in discussions to draft and adopt new legislation.
“Officials assert that entrusting the 2040 climate target file to the far-right Patriots for Europe in the Parliament’s Environment, Public Health and Food Safety committee is a result of a complex attribution system that grants larger groups control over significant files.”
As the third-largest group in the European Parliament, Patriots for Europe comprises 11 members in the Environment committee.
“The group has consistently opposed the EU’s climate policies, with National Rally leader Jordan Bardella previously advocating for the immediate suspension of the EU’s Green Deal.”
And thus, we witness palpable PANIC in Brussels.
| The #Patriots will continue to lead the call for a genuine overhaul of EU climate policy. We invite all political groups that truly stand for economic reason, energy security, and democratic legitimacy to join us. #climatelaw pic.twitter.com/zouhRxwlrR
— Patriots for Europe (@PatriotsEP) July 8, 2025
For Further Reading:
‘WE ARE THE MAINSTREAM’: Surging ‘Patriots for Europe’ Group Meet in Madrid – Orbán, Le Pen, Wilders, Salvini and Other Rightwing Leaders Vow to ‘Make Europe Great Again’
