The European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR): 'Eurorealism' in the ninth European Parliament

After the 2019 European Parliament (EP) elections, the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) party grouping experienced a major change in its representation and leadership, with the wholescale departure of its core British Conservative MEPs as a consequence of Brexit. Not for the first time, the ECR was written off by some commentators as merely another transient 'Eurosceptic' faction, with even its new, post-2019 party president, Georgia Meloni, representing the historically fascist Brothers of Italy (FdI). So which ECR featured in the 2019-2024 parliamentary session - the natural heirs of the mainstream British Conservatives or a 'radical right' group with a now emphatically populist, nationalist tone? In this article, it is argued that the ninth session saw the ECR truly establish itself as an important and coherent parliamentary group in Strasbourg and Brussels, complete with staff and resources, ostensibly acting as a strong voice for conservatism in Europe. With large numbers of MEPs from Poland's Law and Justice (PiS) party leading the grouping, there was also much continuity with ECR policies that were opposed to political 'ever closer union', in favour of the single market, and enthusiastic about the wider role of the United States (US) and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) in international relations.