EU prosecutors search Parliament offices in probe into far-right group

The European Parliament’s Patriots for Europe group said EU prosecutors searched administrative offices in Brussels and Strasbourg on Wednesday in an investigation into suspected misuse of EU funds by its predecessor, LRT reported.

The group said the operation appeared to be linked to an inquiry into Identity and Democracy, a far-right parliamentary bloc dissolved in 2024. Patriots for Europe said it had no legal continuity with the former group and was not involved in the ongoing investigation.

The European Public Prosecutor’s Office is investigating suspected misappropriation of EU funds by Identity and Democracy, which included lawmakers from France’s National Rally, Italy’s League and Germany’s Alternative for Germany. Patriots for Europe replaced the bloc after the 2024 elections and is now the European Parliament’s third-largest group.

Jean-Paul Garraud, head of the National Rally delegation, said the searches targeted offices used by former Identity and Democracy staff. “While France’s streets are descending into chaos, this seems to be the authorities’ priority,” he wrote on X, referring to a wave of violent protests in France.

The European Public Prosecutor’s Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. It announced formal investigations last July after media outlets cited a parliamentary report alleging that Identity and Democracy had improperly spent 4.3 million euros between 2019 and 2024. The report said most of the money went to an adviser to French far-right leader Marine Le Pen and his wife. A series of raids took place in France and other countries in June as part of the investigation.