Remigijus Žemaitaitis, leader of Lithuania’s ruling Nemunas Dawn party, met Monday in Budapest with Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó to discuss the possibility of the party joining the far-right Patriots for Europe bloc in the European Parliament.
Nemunas Dawn said in a Facebook post that the meeting with Hungary’s foreign affairs and trade minister focused on key issues of bilateral cooperation, with particular attention given to the option of joining the Patriots for Europe political family in the European Parliament.
The party said its council will decide whether to seek membership in the European alliance.
The Patriots for Europe group, which currently has 85 members, is the third-largest faction in the European Parliament. Its members include France’s National Rally, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz party, Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš’ ANO party, Italy’s far-right Lega party, Spain’s far-right Vox party and others.
No Lithuanian politician currently represents the anti-immigration, Euro-sceptic group, which was founded in 2024. In late December, Žemaitaitis told BNS that his party had received an invitation to join Patriots for Europe.
Nemunas Dawn was founded in 2024, the same year European Parliament elections were held. It is currently a member of Lithuania’s ruling coalition led by the Social Democratic Party.
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