The far-right Identity, Tradition, Sovereignty group in the European Parliament appears to be on the verge of breaking up because of comments made by an Italian MEP, Alessandra Mussolini, about immigrants to that country from Romania. Romanian members of the ITS group are not impressed and are threatening to leave, if Ms Mussolini does not go first. If the Romanians go, then the group collapses because it has to have members from at least 6 different member states. (Read the story here.)

It all goes to show (1) the necessity of organising at a European level and (2) the difficulty of doing so if you do not actually like Europe. The parties that make up the ITS group are opposed to European integration, and in their casual comments you can see why.

I am reminded of a story about the creation of a European-level coordination for anti-European groups in different countries. The founding meeting was beset by an argument about the statutes of the new group. The British were arguing for a loose framework, but others said no, how can you organise anything at the European level without a constitution? How indeed?

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There is more background on the crime wave here, which shows how pro-Europeans can cooperate rather falling out with each other when common problems arise.