N-VA, nationalists from Flanders and supporters of Carles Puigdemont, a fugitive from justice in Spain after the coup in Catalonia in 2017, is considering leaving the Group of European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) in the European Parliament after joining VOX , the formation of Santiago Abascal. “We will decide soon,” he said in a statement. “The N-VA will decide soon on its choice of group,” said a spokesperson for the formation consulted by Europa Press, when asked about the future of the Flemish nationalists after the incorporation of Vox to the group with which he has been present so far in the European Parliament. Negotiations to form the groups that will make up the new chamber as of July 2 remain open, so not all have yet confirmed what their future composition will be. Asked if the arrival of the Spanish party may alter the decision they are about to take. , N-VA parliamentary sources admit “not being able to imagine the N-VA in the same group as VOX.” In the case of ECR, which currently has 65 MEPs, the sources consulted have not wanted to clarify whether the entry of the three VOX MEPs will imply the departure of the three representatives of the N-VA. parties, “argue the conservatives, who will officially process the application for membership of Santiago Abascal’s party at their meeting next Wednesday. In the statement with which the Spanish party has announced its adherence to ECR, it has also warned that its entry occurs after obtaining guarantees from the group that “the parties that comprise it, without exception, will not interfere with the constitutional order, integrity territorial and sovereignty of the Member States’.During the electoral campaign of the European elections in May, the ultra-conservative party in the Polish government, Law and Justice (PiS), which now also leads the ECR group, maintained contacts with VOX and advanced the understanding between the two. However, doubts persisted that the VOX party could coexist in ECR with the Flemish nationalists whose main representatives in Belgium openly supported Puigdemont in his secessionist defiance. The former Catalan president fled to Belgium in 2017 to avoid being judged for attempting the independence from Catalonia with a coup d’état and it did so days after the then Secretary of State responsible for Immigration, the Flemish nationalist Theo Francken, opened the door to give Puigdemont political asylum if he requested it in Belgium. The N-VA, which remains the most voted force in Belgium despite having lost support after the federal and regional elections in May, has lifted the sanitary cordon traditionally imposed by Belgian parties on the Flemish extreme right and maintains contacts with the Vlaams Belang to form a government in Flanders.
