Nicola Procaccini, a senior EU official and ally of Giorgia Meloni, the Prime Minister of Italy, stated that the European Union should be ready for close cooperation with Marine Le Pen if she wins the French presidential elections. Procaccini expressed that EU institutions and the European People's Party should be "brave" in this regard and particularly collaborate with the Patriots party, which represents Le Pen.
The Necessity of Cooperation with Right-Wing Parties
Procaccini emphasized in an interview that "there is no way to impose constraints on the Republic of France" and referred to informal agreements that the main parties have established to prevent right-wing parties from gaining power. He described Le Pen and Jordan Bardella, a member of the European Parliament who is likely to become Prime Minister, as "reasonable and pragmatic individuals" who, like Meloni, are seeking to defend national interests.
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He also noted that Le Pen's victory could bring significant changes to the right-wing power in Europe and place one of the largest countries in the European Union under the influence of a Eurosceptic force. This could compel the European People's Party to reconsider how to engage with right-wing governments.
Challenges Facing the European People's Party
Procaccini added that he hopes Le Pen will follow Meloni's approach in dealing with the European Commission, which means cooperation that is "pragmatic, straightforward, open, honest, and consistent." While he acknowledged that French right-wing politics has historically been less pro-West and pro-Europe than Italy's, he expressed hope that Le Pen would not be destructive in Brussels.
However, some other officials of the European People's Party, such as Siegfried Mureșan, the Romanian Prime Minister candidate, believe that under Le Pen's leadership, the anti-European party in France will become more radical in the coming months. This comes as Procaccini referenced Le Pen's proposal to reduce France's share in the EU budget and assessed it positively.
Procaccini emphasized that the European People's Party must have the courage to openly utilize the right-wing majority to reduce certain aspects of the Green Deal. He stated, "They know well that we need a center-right majority to lessen the legislation of the Green Deal, but the problem is that the European People's Party does not want to have a relationship with the Patriots party."
He also criticized the European People's Party's lack of cooperation with the Patriots as undemocratic and stressed the importance of voting based on content rather than ideology. Procaccini stated that representatives of the Conservatives and Reformists may collaborate with the Patriots and then with the European People's Party as informal intermediaries.
He concluded by stating that the priority until the 2029 European elections should be to reduce parts of the Green Deal and increase competitiveness.
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