The European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group, to which the Italian prime minister, Georgia Meloni, wants the center-right European People’s Party (EPP) to ally with the Patriots for Europe, according to a letter, the contents of which are quoted by the news outlet, POLITICO.

In a clear message to the EPP, the ECR letter says the groups should “build bridges across political lines and deliver results that benefit European citizens and businesses. The previous legislative term was heavily influenced by the direction set by the center-left majority.”

The letter is a response to the January 28 call by the president of the Patriots group, Jordan Bardela, for the right-wing factions of the European Union to unite to jointly kill the Green Deal. “We have long stressed the need to re-evaluate its timelines and implementation to ensure that it does not endanger our industries or the livelihoods of our citizens,” the letter said.

The June 2024 European elections were a turning point towards a right-wing majority aimed at rolling back the European Commission’s flagship Green Deal. Indeed, the EPP used the right-wing majority to water down the deforestation regulation.

However, the EPP has rejected a structural partnership with the Patriots, led by Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orban, because it would break long-standing alliances with both the left-wing Socialists and Democrats and the liberals of Renewal Europe.