European elections and the normalisation of the extreme right: What the Madrid summit means for the EU?

Leaders of the European Parliament’s far-right bloc, Patriots for Europe, held their first official summit in Madrid over the weekend under the slogan “Make Europe Great Again.” The gathering featured Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, Italian Deputy Premier Matteo Salvini, the leader of France’s National Rally Marine Le Pen, and the Netherlands’ PVV leader Geert Wilders. The summit focused primarily on migration and praised re-elected U.S. President Donald Trump, despite his threats to increase tariffs on European imports. 

Studio Europa Maastricht spoke with Dr Luana Russo, Associate Professor in Political Behavior and Quantitative Methods at Maastricht University, about the impact of the far-right alliance on the broader trajectory of European politics and their push to import Trump’s nationalist approach to the EU. 

Read the full interview here.

Also read

  • Green light for UM participation in unique YUFE bachelor programme

    The UM can start as a degree awarding partner in the new unique bachelor programme Urban Sustainability Studies offered by YUFE (Young Universities for the Future of Europe), an alliance of ten European universities. This week, the UM received a positive outcome of the macro due diligence assessment...

    YUFE logo
  • Study Smart gets Dutch Education Premium

    Maastricht University's (UM) interfaculty educational innovation project Study Smart is one of the three winners of the Dutch Education Premium 2025. This was announced on Tuesday during the Comenius festival in The Hague. 

    Winners Onderwijspremie 2025