The ECR announced that it has formed a new European Parliament group with 84 members.

Co-chairing the new group are Italy's Nicola Procaccini and Poland's Joachim Brudzinski.

ECR also welcomes former EKRE member and MEP Jaak Madison in its ranks.

Madison told ERR as recently as Monday this week that he plans to remain part of the Identity and Democracy (ID) group.

"I have joined the European Conservatives and Reformists faction in the European Parliament," Madison said late on Wednesday. "The reason? Mrs. Le Pen and Mr. Obran decided to sink the recent Identity and Democracy group to create the new European Patriots group. Smaller member states were not consulted before this decision and were simply made to face the fact," Madison wrote.

"Therefore, I had to decide where to belong. Whether it would be a completely new group made up of old allies with whom I have a lot in common when it comes to migration or the green transition but where we are in two completely different worlds when it comes to Russia, or whether I would share a group with the True Finns, Swedish Democrats, Poland's largest and strongest conservative force Law and Justice. I had to make a decision and I decided based on what's best for Estonia. It will never be to everyone's liking," Madison explained.

To form a political group in the European Parliament, at least 23 MEPs representing at least a quarter of the member states, currently seven or more countries, are required. Although an individual MEP has limited power in the Parliament, they play a crucial role in forming groups, as it can be challenging to gather representatives from at least seven countries.

Political groups can be created throughout the Parliament's term, and their size and composition can change relatively often, as MEPs are free to decide their group affiliation. Additionally, the composition of political groups can change if a national party delegation leaves or is expelled due to disagreements.

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