Brussels warned to 'ABANDON status quo' or face populist HORDE – 'Must reform to win'

The European Union has been advised to “abandon the status quo” if top Eurocrats want the bloc to survive the threat of growing support for anti-EU populist parties. Eurosceptic French politician Marine Le Pen last week announced plans to bring together Lega leader Matteo Salvini and Brexit Party head Nigel Farage to conduct a joint effort to overhaul the European Union from the inside. Former Italian European Affairs minister Sandro Gozi warned EU leaders they could put the bloc at risk if they fail to agree to a large programme of reforms. 

Speaking to Bloomberg, Mr Gozi said: “The best way to attack the populists, the best way to win the battle against the populists, is to get out of the status quo.

“We need to develop new protections, physical protections, military protections, social protections because people fear the effects of globalisation.

“The only actor that can provide this security and this protection is the renewed Europe. These are the two matters around which we must work and around which we can beat the nationalists.”

Mr Gozi, who last month was announced as a candidate under Emmanuel Macron’s manifesto for the European parliamentary elections, insisted Brussels should renounce the “reluctance” toward reform and “fully embrace” plans for further integration. 

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Marine Le Pen claimed the eurosceptic group in the EU Parliament will be “much more advanced than Emmanuel Macron’s” attempt to create his own liberal bloc thanks to the close collaboration between her Rassemblement Nationale and Mr Salvini’s Lega. 

The right-wing leader pledged to form a “very large sovereignist group in the EU Parliament” and revealed Nigel Farage’s new Brexit Party is also in her vision for the eurosceptic bloc.

She said: “He is welcome if he wants to join. Even if it might be just for a moment.

“We have made changes in the last two years.

“The situation of isolation that we had in Europe is now over. We didn’t have much choice: either we had to submit to the EU or we had to leave it. But we now have allies.”

Ms Le Pen added: “We have mandated Matteo Salvini to try to build this very big group for the defence of European nations.

“We want to go further and get the group, which is the biggest, the strongest possible.”

Mr Farage launched his Brexit Party in response to a new delay to Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union and has been announcing the names of his candidates for the past two weeks.

In addition to notable names like Annunziata Rees-Mogg and John Longworth, the grassroots rebellion party were offered another boost when lifelong Conservative Ann Widdecombe made a sensational return to frontline politics as a Brexit Party candidate.

A survey by YouGov shows the Brexit Party leapfrogging into first place on 27 percent of the vote.

The poll, conducted between April 15 and 16 with 1,855 British adults taking part, predicts Nigel Farage’s new outfit will storm to victory by securing the lion’s share of the votes.

source: express.co.uk