2019 European Parliament elections In April 2019, the
Danish People's Party and the
Finns Party (at the time members of the
European Conservatives and Reformists) announced their intention to form a new grouping with
Alternative for Germany, formerly of the
ECR,
ENF and
EFDD groups, and Italy's
League following the 2019 elections. AfD spokesman
Jörg Meuthen appeared alongside
Northern League leader
Matteo Salvini to formally announce the formation of the new European political alliance with the Finns Party and Danish People's Party which was provisionally named
European Alliance for People and Nations. On 12 June 2019, it was announced that the group would be named "Identity and Democracy" (ID), include Italy's
League (LSP), the French
National Rally (RN) and
Alternative for Germany as member parties, and be a successor to the
Europe of Nations and Freedom (ENF). The
Finns Party also joined the group. Lega MEP
Marco Zanni was announced as the new group's chairman. The group, composed at that time of 73 MEPs, was launched in
Brussels by RN leader
Marine Le Pen on 13 June 2019. It was expanded to include former ENF members
Vlaams Belang and the
Freedom Party of Austria, as well the new
Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD) party from the Czech Republic and the
Conservative People's Party of Estonia (EKRE). The Dutch
Party for Freedom (PVV) failed to secure any seats at the election; however, it gained one in the
post-Brexit apportionment of seats. Before Brexit occurred, Party leader
Geert Wilders stated his intention to align the PVV with ID, provided that the post-Brexit apportionment was confirmed by the
European Council. PVV MEP
Marcel de Graaff subsequently took the seat, but in 2022 defected to the
Forum for Democracy, citing his support for the FvD's policies against the COVID-19 vaccine. The FvD accordingly changed its affiliation from the ECR group to Identity and Democracy. In 2023, the FvD was suspended from the group after de Graaf shared messages on
Twitter supportive of Putin following the
Russian invasion of Ukraine and later quit the group citing difference in views on the matter. The group's political platform is defined by
Euroscepticism,
nativism, and opposition to
globalization. Its primary objective is to resist uncontrolled migration to the European Union and to dismantle the EU's supranational framework, advocating instead for its transformation into an intergovernmental organization composed of sovereign nation-states. In April 2023, the
Finns Party changed membership to the
European Conservatives and Reformists group citing their change in policy to support NATO membership as the reason for the move.
2024 European Parliament elections Ahead of the
2024 European Parliament election, AfD lead candidate
Maximilian Krah made controversial statements on the
Waffen-SS in an interview which was met with anger within the group. In response, National Rally spokespeople
Jordan Bardella and
Caroline Parmentier announced they would part ways with
Alternative for Germany after the election and not include the AfD in the group due to Krah's remarks and allegations of Chinese espionage influence on the party. The League's leader
Matteo Salvini and the Czech
Freedom and Direct Democracy subsequently backed the position taken by the National Rally, with both parties saying they would terminate collaboration with the AfD after the election.
Vlaams Belang criticized Krah's statements with VB MEP
Gerolf Annemans calling Krah "increasingly problematic" but declined to immediately expel and cut cooperation with AfD, instead arguing that they would wait until after the election before making a decision. The Danish People's Party issued an ultimatum that the AfD could only remain in the ID group on the condition of Krah's expulsion with MEP
Anders Vistisen stating that the AfD should purge extremist elements if the two parties were to keep working together. The Portuguese
Chega, a member of the ID Party, described the RN's decision as a “game changer” and suggested it would now consider joining the
European Conservatives and Reformists group or a new merged European Parliament group. The Estonian
EKRE and the Austrian
FPÖ supported removing Krah but opposed the expulsion of the entire AfD faction. After an internal meeting and vote, the Identity and Democracy board subsequently voted in favour of ejecting the AfD, with group leader
Marco Zanni citing Krah's interview, as well as reports of Chinese and Russian influence on the AfD. The AfD consequently moved to
non-inscrits. Following the decision, the AfD said that Krah would not be permitted to sit with the AfD faction in the European Parliament after the election and that they would negotiate to rejoin Identity and Democracy. However, AfD failed in a bid to rejoin, with ID leaders making the decision not to re-admit the party. On 28 June, Freedom and Direct Democracy announced it would leave the group to form a new group called "
Europe of Sovereign Nations", citing disagreements with other ID members on the
European Green Deal, immigration, censorship and Ukraine. This new group is described as being led by the AfD. On 30 June, the Freedom Party of Austria also announced it would leave ID to form a new group called "
Patriots for Europe", alongside
Fidesz and
ANO 2011. Shortly after, Chega, a member of the ID Party, also announced it would join "Patriots for Europe" instead of the ID group. The Dutch
Party for Freedom's leader,
Geert Wilders, also announced his party would join the new group, followed by the
Danish People's Party and
Vlaams Belang, which both said they would also join. The League stated that it was strongly considering joining, while the National Rally entered "advanced talks" to discuss joining. On 8 July 2024, the League and the National Rally also left the group to join Patriots for Europe.
2025 EPPO probe In July 2025 a leaked internal parliamentary audit suggested far-right parties may have spent millions in EU funds improperly. An investigation into alleged misuse of funds by – meanwhile defunct –
Identity and Democracy was launched by the
European Public Prosecutor's Office. ==Ideology==