N-VA joins forces with the European Conservatives and Reformists

In a direct snub to Guy Verhofstadt, the leader of the European Parliament’s Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE), the Flemish nationalist party N-VA turned down an offer to join ALDE on Wednesday evening, deciding instead to take up with the Eurosceptic European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) party that was founded by British conservatives.

Guy Verhofstadt declared the decision by the N-VA as “not a good one for the European project”.

“[ALDE] reaches out to all those who want to work together to reform and strengthen the European Union. In order to get out of the crisis, we need to conduct an urgent review of the fiscal and economic union. It’s with this in mind that ALDE swept aside all the obstacles that might prevent the N-VA from joining our ranks,” said Verhofstadt.

According to Verhofstadt, “the decision of the nationalist party, which is the biggest in the country, to join forces with a Eurosceptic party, which is home to several extreme right parties like the Finnish Ware Finnen, the Danish populist party, Dansk Folkeparti, or even the German Alternative für Deutschland, which rejects the euro, is not good for the European project.”