Nick Griffin, not a man known for his international sympathies and understanding, has just announced that the British National Party is to form a new, far-right pan-European alliance of national movements to fight “this monstrous federal Europe”. He will do so, he boasted, with taxpayers’ money, calling on about €11 million of funding from the European Union. The money will be divided between the various parties, yielding the BNP a tidy share of £360,000.
It sounds an appalling misuse of European funds and a disgraceful way for a pariah protest party with minimal electoral support to obtain money. But, as usual, Mr Griffin is guilty of misleading distortions. The money does not come from the fund provided by the European Parliament to encourage political groupings at Strasbourg: the BNP has not been able to muster a minimum of 25 members from seven different states. Instead, he is hoping for cash available to promote any pan-European parties, even if they are not represented in the Parliament.
Mr Griffin is too late for this year’s handout, and is looking for funds in 2011. But these are far from guaranteed: his grouping must first prove that it satisfies European values, and the scrutineers must balk at its discriminatory membership policies.
The grasping BNP has, nevertheless, underlined an outrage. Why should there be funding for any pan-European parties? MEPs are heavily subsidised as it is, so why are we paying to fund the consolidation of political parties across Europe? Who voted for this nonsense? Not a penny should make its way to the BNP’s coffers — or to anyone else’s either.