The Patriots for Europe group has issued a declaration warning of Europe’s economic decline under the current European Commission, accusing Ursula von der Leyen of “exceeding her powers” and pursuing an agenda dictated by “leftist activists.”
In the Madrid Declaration on Protecting European Prosperity, Competitiveness and Jobs, the alliance—led by Hungary’s Viktor Orbán and Austria’s Herbert Kickl—says Brussels has abandoned the founding principles of prosperity and peace, creating a “bureaucratic, fiscal and regulatory slog” that leaves companies with “a stark choice: closure or relocation abroad.”
The document criticises the EU’s Green Deal, rising energy prices, and trade negotiations with Mercosur and the United States, arguing they have all harmed European producers and small businesses. It pledges to defend farmers, livestock breeders, and fishermen from what it calls ineffective environmental policies and unfair market competition.
The Patriots also condemn “incentives for uncontrolled immigration,” warning that mass migration weakens social cohesion and trust among EU nations. They call for “a genuine national and European preference policy” and a “real reduction in the burden on enterprises.”
