The two MEPs of the SOS Romania party, Diana Șoșoacă and Luiz Lazarus, will not be accepted into the „Sovereigntists” group in the European Parliament.
The fate of this group is uncertain, and the main party trying to form it, the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, does not agree to receive the two Romanian MEPs. This comes after Șoșoacă revealed a few days ago that she had secret discussions over the past year with AfD and that in April she was in Berlin, where the collaboration was finalized.
The National Committee of S.O.S. Romania decided on Tuesday, unanimously, for the party to join the "Sovereigntists" group in the European Parliament through its two MEPs.
AfD MEP Cristine Andreson confirmed to G4Media that Șoșoacă and Lazarus will not be accepted into the Sovereigntists group. "I had a discussion with the SOS representatives and we unanimously decided not to accept them into the group. I would prefer not to discuss the reasons for the rejection," Anderson stated.
AfD Avoids Romanian Sovereigntists
According to sources cited by Antena 3, Șoșoacă allegedly negotiated with Maximilian Krah, who resigned from the party's federal executive board after involving the party in a scandal with controversial statements about the former Nazi paramilitary organization SS. Krah is also under investigation for suspicious ties with Russia and China.
Last month, the Identity and Democracy (ID) group, currently dominated by the French group Rassemblement National and of which AfD was a part in the European Parliament, expelled the far-right German party. AfD is now attempting to form its own group in the European Parliament.
AfD is also trying to limit its image problems by avoiding association with the Romanian Sovereigntists, especially since Diana Șoșoacă has consistently supported Moscow's position in her public statements and speeches in Parliament, even participating in events organized by the Russian embassy.
The Fate of the "Sovereigntists" Group is Uncertain
The "Sovereigntists" group, a project initiated by AfD, has not yet been officially created. To establish a group in the European Parliament, a minimum of 23 MEPs from at least seven EU member states is required.
According to the Austrian publication Kronen Zeitung, potential allies of AfD could include Se Acabó la Fiesta from Spain, NIKH from Greece, Konfederacja from Poland, Hnutie Republika from Slovakia, and Mi Hazánk Mozgalom (Our Homeland Movement) from Hungary. The list also includes Diana Șoșoacă's party, SOS Romania.
Euractiv reported on June 25 that three of the candidate parties will be "re-examined." AfD was to determine the feasibility of an association with the Hungarian party Our Homeland Movement and the nationalist SOS Romania, both with pro-Russia stances, while the extremist Republica party from Slovakia would also be analyzed.
A source in Brussels told Euractiv that AfD fears these parties could be uncontrollable.
Euractiv reported two days ago that the AfD delegation, led by René Aust, decided not to proceed with their plan to announce a new parliamentary group, initially planned for the end of the week.
The issue of the new parliamentary group is set to be discussed at the AfD conference over the weekend, and the final decision will likely be made on Tuesday when the AfD EU delegation meets again.
To be registered in time for the first plenary session of the European Parliament, a new group must be announced by July 4.
If they are not accepted into any group in the European Parliament, the two SOS MEPs, Diana Șoșoacă and Luis Lazarus, will remain unaffiliated and will have no negotiating power in the Brussels legislature.