The Left in the European Parliament accepts the entry of the Italian Five Star Movement for a trial period

BRUSSELS, Jul 4 () –

The Left group in the European Parliament has agreed to include for a six-month trial period the eight MEPs obtained in the last European elections by the Five Star Movement (M5S), an entry viewed with suspicion by the group due to the populist and Eurosceptic path of the Italian party in previous legislatures.

Following internal discussions and a meeting with Italian MEPs, the European Left and M5S have agreed to link up “for a period of six months with reciprocal observer status,” according to a joint statement.

“We are confident that we will cooperate constructively and productively to confirm the convergence between the Left and M5S, to work together for citizens and for the planet,” explains the text, in which the co-president of the group, the Frenchwoman Manon Aubry, clarifies that the decision has been agreed with the other Italian party integrated in its ranks, the Green and Left Alliance, which provides two MEPs.

“Over the next five years, we are committed to working with our new colleagues to advocate for a more socially conscious Europe, opposing poverty and austerity policies,” said M5S leader in the European Parliament, Pasquale Tridico.

The pact allows the European Left to gain eight MEPs to reach 47 seats and the Five Star Movement to gain strength by moving from the Non-Attached to a European group, despite having fallen by almost half the number of MEPs compared to the previous legislature, when it gained 14.

In this way, the Italian populists will be part of the group led by Aubry’s France Insoumise for at least the next six months, but which also includes in its benches the MEPs of Podemos, the Irish members of Sinn Fein and the Greek members of Syriza.

The populist M5S, who governed Italy for the first time in coalition with Matteo Salvini’s League, entered the European Parliament two terms ago, after the 2014 elections, and did so as part of the now defunct Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy (EFDD) party then led by British Eurosceptics Nigel Farage.