Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán announced in Vienna on Sunday an alliance with populist parties from Austria and the Czech Republic at the EU level, dubbed Patriots for Europe, to form a new far-right group in the European Parliament.
The Patriots for Europe grouping draws in Orbán's Fidesz party, the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) and the Czech Republic's Action of Dissatisfied Citizens, commonly known as ANO (Yes), should soon gain more members and become the "largest group of right-wing forces in Europe," the Fidesz leader said.
Hungary is due to take over the six-month rotating presidency of the European Union on Monday.
Elections to the European Parliament were held at the beginning of June. Until 2021, Fidesz was in the centre-right European People's Party (EPP) when Orbán withdrew from this political bloc. Since then, his party has not been part of any official political groups.
