Prosecutors raid offices of Patriots for Europe group in European Parliament

The European Public Prosecutor's Office raided on Wednesday the European ‌Parliament premises of the Patriots for Europe far-right grouping, which includes several major political movements, as part of a funding probe. "Since this morning, the European Public Prosecutor's Office has been carrying out ‌searches in administrative offices at the European Parliament in Brussels and Strasbourg," Patriots for Europe ‌wrote on X.

It added it believed the searches were linked to an embezzlement probe against the former Identity & Democracy Group (ID), which had been part of the Patriots for Europe bloc before it was dissolved in ⁠2024. The ID ​group had included ⁠France's National Rally, Italy's Lega, Austria's Freedom Party, Hungarian party Fidesz and Spanish party Vox, among others. After it ⁠dissolved in 2024, many of its staff moved over to the Patriots for Europe group.

"The EPPO ​can confirm that it carried out searches in the premises of the European ⁠Parliament in France and Belgium as part of an ongoing investigation into the use of European funds by a ⁠former ​political group in the European Parliament," said the EPPO, responding to a request for comment by email. Patriots for Europe is the third-largest grouping in the European Parliament. It ⁠added in its statement that it was not involved in any ongoing investigations into the ⁠dissolved ID.

Besides France's ⁠far-right RN party, whose leader Marine Le Pen is ahead in opinion polls for next year's French presidential election, the grouping also includes ‌Fidesz and Vox, ‌among others.