The European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) Group in the European Parliament has welcomed Sander Smit and Jessica van Leeuwen of the Dutch Farmer–Citizen Movement (BoerBurgerBeweging – BBB) as new Members.

Following BBB’s decision to leave the European People’s Party (EPP) Group, the two MEPs have joined the ECR after being formally admitted at a meeting of the Group.

Nicola Procaccini, Co-Chairman of the ECR Group, said:

“We are delighted to welcome Sander Smit and Jessika van Leeuwen to the ECR family. Their arrival further strengthens our Group as the natural home for centre-right forces committed to reforming the European Union with common sense and pragmatism. The ECR continues to play a constructive role in the European Parliament, working to build broad majorities around practical solutions and a Europe that focuses on the big challenges while doing less, but doing it better.”

Patryk Jaki, Co-Chairman of the ECR Group, added:

“BBB’s strong commitment to farmers, rural communities and national decision-making reflects priorities that are central to our political family. Across Europe, citizens expect policies that respect local realities, support those who produce our food and strengthen regional economies. Together we will continue working for a Europe that respects its regions, boosts competitiveness and delivers practical results for its citizens.”

The move follows BBB’s conclusion that the ECR Group offers the best political fit for advancing its priorities at the European level. Explaining the decision to leave the European People’s Party Group, BBB parliamentary group leader in the Dutch Second Chamber, Henk Vermeer, said:

“As BBB, we do not allow our representatives to be silenced in Parliament. That is why, after two years, BBB has decided to leave the EPP Group of von der Leyen in the European Parliament. Following a thorough analysis within our party and among our supporters, BBB has concluded in recent months that the ECR Group offers the best foundation for implementing our programme. In line with the core thread of our election manifesto: less Brussels, more room for farmers, fishermen, regions, and national sovereignty. And that fits seamlessly within the course of the ECR.”

Sander Smit MEP, BBB delegation leader in the European Parliament, elaborated:

“Since the European elections, we have wanted to act as the connecting element for broad centre-right cooperation in the European Parliament, across group boundaries. Over the past period, we have worked intensively with numerous EPP colleagues. BBB MEPs will and want to continue that pleasant, close cooperation. Now from within the ECR Group, we will keep building bridges to the other groups in the centre and on the right. Only through such broad cooperation can we achieve the much-needed course correction in the EU.

“The ECR is growing in influence and becoming increasingly crucial to getting things done in Europe, both in the European Parliament and beyond. We only need to look at the decisive role that Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni are now playing on the EU stage as government leaders,” Smit emphasises. “I am therefore delighted with by the warm welcome from the ECR Group.”

With the arrival of the BBB delegation, the ECR Group now counts 81 Members in the European Parliament.

The European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) Group is a centre-right political group in the European Parliament founded in 2009 on the principles of the Prague Declaration. The Group promotes a euro-realist vision of European cooperation based on respect for national sovereignty, economic competitiveness, free trade and practical solutions that deliver real value for citizens. ECR Members work for a more flexible, decentralised and economically dynamic European Union — one that does less but does it better, respects the role of national democracies and focuses on the major shared challenges facing Europe today.