Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy (EFDD or EFD²) was a
Eurosceptic
Euroscepticism, also spelled as Euroskepticism or EU-scepticism, is a political position involving criticism of the European Union (EU) and European integration. It ranges from those who oppose some EU institutions and policies and seek refor ...
and
populist
Populism is a contested concept used to refer to a variety of political stances that emphasize the idea of the " common people" and often position this group in opposition to a perceived elite. It is frequently associated with anti-establis ...
political group
A parliamentary group, parliamentary caucus or political group is a group consisting of members of different political parties or independent politicians with similar ideologies. Some parliamentary systems allow smaller political parties, who a ...
in the
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...
. The EFDD group was a continuation for the
Eighth European Parliament of the
Europe of Freedom and Democracy (EFD) group that existed during the
Seventh European Parliament, with significant changes to group membership.
In 2017, it was one of the seven political groups of the parliament. This group was opposed to
European integration
European integration is the process of political, legal, social, regional and economic integration of states wholly or partially in Europe, or nearby. European integration has primarily but not exclusively come about through the European Union ...
.
Twenty-four out of its 47 MEPs were from the United Kingdom, representing the
UK Independence Party
The UK Independence Party (UKIP, ) is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two members of parliament (both through defect ...
.
Its president was British politician
Nigel Farage
Nigel Paul Farage ( ; born 3 April 1964) is a British politician and broadcaster who has been Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Clacton (UK Parliament constituency), Clacton and Leader of Reform UK since 20 ...
, who was first elected for the
UK Independence Party
The UK Independence Party (UKIP, ) is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two members of parliament (both through defect ...
, and then became an independent in 2018 before becoming leader of the
Brexit Party in 2019.
David Borrelli of the Italian
Five Star Movement
The Five Star Movement ( , M5S) is a political party in Italy, led by Giuseppe Conte. It was launched on 4 October 2009 by Beppe Grillo, a political activist and comedian, and Gianroberto Casaleggio, a web strategist. The party is primarily d ...
was co-president until January 2017,
when he had to resign the co-presidency after a failed attempt by his party to transfer to the
ALDE group.
The parliamentary group was originally linked to the
Alliance for Direct Democracy in Europe (ADDE); however, the Alliance later ceased activities in 2016 after an auditors' inquiry found misspending of EU funds and was eventually dissolved on 24 May 2017. Nonetheless, the group continued its activities until 26 June 2019, when it was also dissolved following the
2019 European Parliament election
The 2019 European Parliament election was held in the European Union (EU) between 23 and 26 May 2019. It was the ninth parliamentary election since the first direct elections in 1979. A total of 751 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) we ...
.
History
7th European Parliament
Formation for the 8th European Parliament
Following the
2014 European parliament elections, the
Europe of Freedom and Democracy (EFD) group faced difficulties reforming for the
8th European Parliament
The eighth European Parliament was elected in the 2014 European Parliament election, 2014 elections and lasted until the 2019 European Parliament election, 2019 elections.
Major events
* 22–25 May 2014
** 2014 European Parliament election, Ele ...
, with various member parties and MEPs of the previous term's EFD either defecting to different parliamentary groups or failing to be re-elected.
On 4 June 2014, the
Danish People's Party (Denmark) and
Finns Party
The Finns Party ( , PS; , Sannf), formerly known as the True Finns, is a right-wing populist political party in Finland. It was founded in 1995 following the dissolution of the Finnish Rural Party.
The party achieved its electoral breakthro ...
(Finland) were admitted into the
European Conservatives and Reformists European Conservatives and Reformists may refer to:
*European Conservatives and Reformists Party (ECR Party), a soft Eurosceptic European political party
*European Conservatives and Reformists Group
The European Conservatives and Reformists ...
(ECR) and therefore were no longer attached to the EFD.
On 12 June 2014, the
Five Star Movement
The Five Star Movement ( , M5S) is a political party in Italy, led by Giuseppe Conte. It was launched on 4 October 2009 by Beppe Grillo, a political activist and comedian, and Gianroberto Casaleggio, a web strategist. The party is primarily d ...
(M5S) of Italy, having been rejected by the
Greens/EFA and
Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe groups, offered its activists a limited-choice online referendum to choose a European Parliament group for the party, in which 78% of participating activists voted for the EFD.
On 16 June 2014, Dutch MEP
Bas Belder of the
Reformed Political Party
The Reformed Political Party ( , SGP) is a conservative Reformed ChristianThese sources describe the SGP as a Calvinist (Reformed Christian) political party:
*
*
*
* political party in the Netherlands. The SGP is the oldest political party in the ...
(SGP) moved from the EFD to the ECR group.
The EFD group was reformed on 18 June 2014 with MEPs from existing member parties: the
UK Independence Party
The UK Independence Party (UKIP, ) is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two members of parliament (both through defect ...
(United Kingdom) and the
Order and Justice (Lithuania), in addition to new affiliates: the Five Star Movement, the
Sweden Democrats
The Sweden Democrats ( , SD ) is a Nationalism, nationalist and Right-wing populism, right-wing populist political party in Sweden founded in 1988. As of 2024, it is the largest member of Sweden's Right-wing politics, right-wing bloc and the sec ...
(Sweden), the
Party of Free Citizens (Czech Republic), the
Latvian Farmers Union (Latvia) and a French independent MEP, formerly of the
National Front.
On 24 June 2014, the EFD group name was revised to Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy (EFDD), and
David Borrelli of the Five Star Movement was chosen as the group's co-president.
Events during 8th European Parliament
On 16 October 2014, it was announced that
Iveta Grigule MEP from the
Latvian Farmers' Union defected from EFDD to the ALDE group, resulting in the collapse of the group because it was no longer composed of representatives from at least a quarter of the EU's Member States. The criterion was restored on 20 October, with one Polish MEP,
Robert Iwaszkiewicz from
Congress of the New Right
The Congress of the New Right (, Nowa Prawica or just KNP) is a right-wing Eurosceptic political party in Poland. The party was founded on 25 March 2011 by Janusz Korwin-Mikke, from the merger of the Liberty and Lawfulness (WiP) with several ...
(KNP), joining the group, although the other party's MEPs remained
Non-Inscrits
Non-attached members, also known by the French term (, NI), are members of the European Parliament (MEPs) who do not belong to one of the recognised political groups, which as May 2025 consisted of 8 groups ranging between far-left and fa ...
.
On 24 January 2015, Amjad Bashir was suspended from UKIP pending a party investigation into financial fraud: Bashir defected to the Conservative Party within an hour of his suspension. On 20 March 2015,
Janice Atkinson was suspended from UKIP and later expelled on 23 March for alleged financial fraud. Atkinson joined the
Europe of Nations and Freedom
Europe of Nations and Freedom (ENF; , ENL) was a far-right Political groups of the European Parliament, political group that operated in the European Parliament between 2015 and 2019. It was composed of 37 MEPs and only existed during the Eighth ...
(ENF) group at its launch on 15 June 2015.
In April 2015,
Valentinas Mazuronis left
Order and Justice and joined the ranks of
Labour Party, also leaving the EFDD.
On 8 April 2016,
Alternative for Germany
Alternative for Germany (, AfD, ) is a Far-right politics in Germany (1945–present), far-right,Far-right:
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
* Right-wing populism, right-wing populist and National conservatism, national-conservative p ...
(AfD) MEP
Beatrix von Storch left the ECR group to join EFDD.
On 24 October 2016,
Steven Woolfe
Steven Marcus Woolfe (born 6 October 1967) is a British barrister, writer, commentator and former politician. He is currently the Director of the Centre for Migration & Economic Prosperity, a research think tank studying population and immigra ...
left the group to sit as Non-Inscrits, followed by
Diane James
Diane Martine James (born 20 November 1959) is a British politician who was a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for South East England from 2014 to 2019. She was briefly leader-elect of the UK Independence Party (UKIP) from September 2 ...
on 20 November 2016.
On 9 January 2017, the Five Star Movement voted in an online referendum to leave EFDD in order to join the ALDE group; however, they were rejected by ALDE later the same day. In the aftermath, two MEPs left the group, with
Marco Affronte defected to the Greens/EFA group, and
Marco Zanni to the
ENL group.
Other Five Star Movement MEPs pulled out of switching parliamentary group after threatened by party leader
Beppe Grillo
Giuseppe Piero "Beppe" Grillo (; born 21 July 1948) is an Italian comedian, actor, Blogger (person), blogger, and politician.
He has been involved in politics since 2009 as the co-founder (together with Gianroberto Casaleggio) of the Italian Fi ...
with a fine of €250,000.
In October 2017, with change in the
French National Front,
Florian Philippot, president of the "Patriotes",
Sophie Montel
Sophie Montel (born 22 November 1969 in Montbéliard) is a French politician.
Member of the Franche-Comté Regional Council and later regional council of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté since 1998.
She contested the 2018 Territoire de Belfort's 1st ...
and
Mireille d'Ornano join the Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy group.
On 13 February 2018, former group co-president David Borrelli left the M5S and moved to
Non-Inscrits
Non-attached members, also known by the French term (, NI), are members of the European Parliament (MEPs) who do not belong to one of the recognised political groups, which as May 2025 consisted of 8 groups ranging between far-left and fa ...
.
On 3 July 2018, the 2
Sweden Democrats
The Sweden Democrats ( , SD ) is a Nationalism, nationalist and Right-wing populism, right-wing populist political party in Sweden founded in 1988. As of 2024, it is the largest member of Sweden's Right-wing politics, right-wing bloc and the sec ...
MEPs moved to ECR group.
In December 2018, Farage and multiple other MEPs left UKIP in protest over
Gerard Batten's leadership. Batten in turn left the EFDD and then withdrew the remaining further 6 UKIP MEPs.
In April 2019, group leader Nigel Farage launched the
Brexit Party, which he and ten of the other former UKIP MEPs in the group joined, along with one UKIP MEP from the
Europe of Nations and Freedom
Europe of Nations and Freedom (ENF; , ENL) was a far-right Political groups of the European Parliament, political group that operated in the European Parliament between 2015 and 2019. It was composed of 37 MEPs and only existed during the Eighth ...
group.
On the 26 June 2019 it was reported that the EFDD had failed to register for the
9th European Parliament, making them no longer an official political group. Most of the former members of EFDD have now become part of the
Identity and Democracy
Identity and Democracy (ID; ) was a political group of the European Parliament during the Ninth European Parliament term, launched on 13 June 2019. It comprised Far right politics, far-right, Right-wing populism, right-wing populist, Euroscept ...
political group.
Membership
8th European Parliament, 2014
At foundation, the Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy had 48 elected members as follows:
9th European Parliament, 2019
In 2019 the Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy had 42 members of the European Parliament along with other affiliated parties as follows:
Leadership
*Chair/Co-president:
Nigel Farage
Nigel Paul Farage ( ; born 3 April 1964) is a British politician and broadcaster who has been Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Clacton (UK Parliament constituency), Clacton and Leader of Reform UK since 20 ...
(2014–2019)
*Chair/Co-president:
David Borrelli (2014–2017)
*Chair of the Bureau:
Roger Helmer
Roger Helmer (born 25 January 1944) is a British politician and businessman. He was a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the East Midlands region from 1999 to 2017. Before becoming an MEP, he was a business executive.
Helmer was electe ...
*Vice-chair:
Joëlle Bergeron
*Vice-chair:
Piernicola Pedicini
*Vice-chair:
Robert Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz
*Vice-chair:
Rolandas Paksas
Rolandas Paksas (; born 10 June 1956) is a Lithuanian politician who served as the sixth President of Lithuania from 2003 until his impeachment in April 2004. He previously served two terms as the Prime Minister of Lithuania in 1999 and again ...
*Treasurer:
Tiziana Beghin
Tiziana Beghin (born 4 February 1971, in Genoa) is an Italian politician who was elected as a Member of the European Parliament in 2014 and re-elected in 2019.
Biography
After completing her high school studies, Beghin graduated in economics and ...
Political positions
The bloc's primary goal was the reduction in the powers of, or even the dissolution of, the European Union.
Nigel Farage
Nigel Paul Farage ( ; born 3 April 1964) is a British politician and broadcaster who has been Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Clacton (UK Parliament constituency), Clacton and Leader of Reform UK since 20 ...
, the bloc's president, was also the leader of the
UK Independence Party
The UK Independence Party (UKIP, ) is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two members of parliament (both through defect ...
and latterly the
Brexit Party, both of which advocated for the immediate withdrawal of the UK from the European Union.
During the European Parliament debate about
Catalan independence referendum in 2017, the EFDD, by the voice of
Ray Finch considered that European Union should have made some intervention against Spain to protect Catalan independence. He considered that this referendum led to human rights abuses. According to him, people should have the right to vote even when the referendum is illegal.
See also
*
European Alliance of Peoples and Nations
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Europe Of Freedom And Democracy
Former European Parliament party groups
Former European political alliances
Euroscepticism
2014 establishments in the European Union
2019 disestablishments in Europe
Right-wing populism in Europe
Nigel Farage