Eurosceptic group denies claims of 'unsavoury' membership

Dutch MEP Bas Belder has dismissed allegations that the UK Independence Party has forged an alliance with "unsavoury" hard-line right-wingers.

His comments come after a new Eurosceptic group was formally launched in parliament on Wednesday.

The Europe of Freedom and Democracy group, comprising 30 MEPs from eight countries, includes Lega Nord which, in the past, has been accused of pursuing xenophobic policies.

The party was in the UEN group in the last parliament but has now joined forces with Ukip.

Like Ukip, Lega Nord was successful in the elections, doubling the number of seats it won from four to eight and winning nine and a half per cent of the vote in Italy compared with five per cent in the 2004 elections.

Some predicted it would link up with Nick Griffin, leader of the British National Party, which won two seats in the elections but it has thrown its lot in with the new group which was known as the Independence-Democracy group in the last parliament.

But Belder, of the SGP party in the Netherlands, the country's oldest political party, said he had "no problem" joining forces with Lega Nord.

Belder, now entering his third term as an MEP, told this website, "I have never had any problems with them in the past. We are starting as a new group and as far as I am concerned, we start with a clean slate."

Leadership of the new group will be split between Ukip leader Nigel Farage and Frencesco Speroni, of Lega Nord.

Speaking at the group's first meeting, Farage also confirmed the group will not give its support to Jose Manuel Barroso in his attempts to win a second term as commission president.

However, he admitted that the "campaign to unseat" Barroso was still likely to end in failure.

Turning to the new group, which includes nine deputies from Lega Nord, Farage said it would provide a "much-needed voice of opposition" in parliament.

He said it was striking that in the last parliament the EPP and Socialists, parliament's two biggest groups, had voted together on major policy issues on 97 per cent of occasions.

"We are going to try and fight this cosy consensus," he said.

"I am confident we can make a difference. If we don't then who will?"

Further comment came from other members of the group, including Morten Messerschmidt, of the Danish People's Party, who said the group would "speak out against further EU integration."

The group also includes Philippe de Villiers, elected on a Libertas ticket, and former EU "whistleblower" Marta Andreasen.

She said the group would propose her for a deputy chairmanship of the key budgetary control committee, adding, "It is an important post and one where I could make a real impact."

The group has two MEPs from Denmark and two from Greece, one each from Finland, France, Slovakia and the Netherlands as well as the UK and Italian members.

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