Far-right hopes to form European bloc

BRUSSELS, Oct. 23 (UPI) -- Leaders of far-right nationalist parties hope to form a bloc in the European Parliament this year.

The potential members include France's National Front, the Flemish Vlaams Belang Party in Belgium, the Austrian Freedom Party, the Italian Movimento Sociale Fiamma Tricolore and Lega Nord and the League of Polish Families, the EU Observer reports.

To become a recognized bloc, the parties would need a total of 19 members of the parliament from five countries.

Jean Marie Le Pen, founder of the National Front, plans to hold a three-day conference near Paris for the parties.

Frank Vanhecke, chairman of Vlaams Belang and a member of the European Parliament, said that he is hopeful of success but not counting on it.

"I've been in European circles long enough to be realistic and sceptical on the eventual outcome. We've tried this five times before and at those times it looked as good as it looks now," he said.

One previous attempt was rejected on the grounds that the proposed bloc did not have a political platform. Leaders say they now have one, including opposition to Turkey's EU membership and to non-European immigration.