Lithuania’s ruling party head meets Hungarian FM to weigh EU far-right bloc entry

Remigijus Žemaitaitis, head of Lithuania’s ruling Nemunas Dawn party, met with Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó in Budapest on January 12 to discuss the party’s potential entry into the far-right Patriots for Europe bloc in the European Parliament.

According to a Facebook post by Nemunas Dawn, the discussion centred on key areas of bilateral cooperation, with particular focus on the possibility of joining the Patriots for Europe political group, Caliber.Az reports per Lithuanian media.

The party said its council will ultimately decide whether to pursue membership in the European alliance.

The Patriots for Europe faction, currently the third-largest in the European Parliament with 85 members, includes France’s National Rally, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz party, Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš’s ANO party, Italy’s Lega, Spain’s Vox, and other far-right parties.

No Lithuanian politician presently represents the anti-immigration, Eurosceptic group, which was established in 2024. In late December, Žemaitaitis told BNS that Nemunas Dawn had received an invitation to join Patriots for Europe.

Founded in 2024, the same year as the European Parliament elections, Nemunas Dawn is part of Lithuania’s ruling coalition led by the Social Democratic Party.

By Jeyhun Aghazada