Griffin announces alliance of EU nationalist parties

BNP leader Nick Griffin today announced a new political alliance to fight "this monstrous federal Europe".

Nationalist parties across the EU are joining forces to generate funding and increase their political clout.

Mr Griffin, one of two BNP members who won seats in the euro-elections last June, said the initiative showed nationalist parties could work together to achieve their own nationalist aims.

At a launch in Brussels for the far-right European Alliance of National Movements, he declared: "You can be a nationalist without being confrontational. Nationalism is about peace and co-operation, not about aggression".

Key figures in the new grouping are fellow MEPs Bruno Gollnisch, vice-President of the French National Front and Front National (FN) for International affairs and Balczo Zoltan, vice president of JOBBIK Movement for a Better Hungary.

The group cannot muster enough support yet to be recognised as a formal political grouping in the European Parliament, for which they need at least 25 members from 7 countries.

But they will get funding as a pan-European grouping, sharing in a pot of money Mr Griffin put at 11 million euros - nearly £10 million.

The BNP leader said that would be divided between the nationalist parties represented in the new group, with about £360,000 likely to go to the BNP.

"It is important for British taxpayers to get some money back. Britain remains a net contributor (to the EU budget) and will go on being so, and we can get some of that money back to spend on good causes."

He went on: "The vast majority of people do not want to see more European power. What they stand for is free, independent sovereign nations represented by parties fighting for their own sovereign nations and co-operating to do so.

"I think people will be pleased that you can vote for a national party without it being confrontational, and that you can work with other national parties in Europe."

Mr Griffin and his fellow BNP MEP Andrew Brons will be part of an Alliance which set out a "manifesto" today declaring the "inalienable values of Christianity, natural law, peace and freedom in Europe" and demanding the creation of "a Europe of free, independent and equal nations in the framework of a confederation of sovereign nation states, refraining from taking decisions on matters properly taken by the states themselves."

The manifesto calls for "the effective protection of Europe against new threats, such as terrorism and religious, political, economic or financial imperialism."

It also calls for "a peaceful and humane settlement of immigration problems through, among other measures, international cooperation aiming at development and self-sufficiency of third world countries".

Mr Gollnisch told the press conference the Alliance expected to gather members from the Ukraine, Portugal and the Belgian National Front.

Asked about funding he replied: "Like Mrs Thatcher said - I want my money back".

And on Holocaust denial, he insisted he had been found "perfectly innocent" by the French Supreme Court of any charges.