Patriots for Europe offices searched in probe into former EU Parliament group
Prosecutors searched administrative offices in Brussels and Strasbourg in an investigation concerning the former Identity and Democracy group. Patriots for Europe denies any legal continuity with it.
Patriots for Europe said European prosecutors searched its administrative offices in the European Parliament in Brussels and Strasbourg on Wednesday, 21 October 2026. The searches are connected to an investigation into alleged financial irregularities at the now-defunct Identity and Democracy group, Politico Europe reported. Patriots for Europe says it is not involved in that investigation.
What prosecutors searched in Brussels and Strasbourg
The Patriots group announced the searches in a post on X, according to Reuters. Politico reported that officials acting on behalf of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office searched offices used by the group’s staff in Strasbourg. Two officials, granted anonymity to discuss the ongoing investigation, identified the group’s secretariat offices as a search location, Politico said. The Brussels Times also reported searches at Parliament offices in both cities.
Jean-Paul Garraud, the National Rally’s chief in the European Parliament, said the Strasbourg searches targeted offices of staff of the former Identity and Democracy group, according to Politico. Patriots for Europe includes France’s National Rally and is the Parliament’s third-largest political grouping, Reuters reported.
Why the former Identity and Democracy group is under investigation
Politico reported that the European Public Prosecutor’s Office opened its probe after receiving reports from the Parliament’s finance department. That department found in 2025 that Identity and Democracy had misspent €4.3 million between 2019 and 2024 through irregular donations and public tenders, according to Politico. The prosecutor’s investigation concerns possible irregular donations to regional organisations in several EU countries and possible breaches of tender rules in contracts awarded to companies friendly to the group. Those are allegations under investigation, rather than findings by prosecutors against Patriots for Europe.
Identity and Democracy dissolved in 2024. Many of its staff moved to Patriots for Europe, Politico reported, alongside lawmakers from parties including National Rally, Austria’s Freedom Party, Hungary’s Fidesz and Spain’s Vox. Patriots for Europe said there is ‘no legal continuity’ with Identity and Democracy and that it is not involved in the ongoing investigations, according to Politico and The Brussels Times.
In a separate matter involving similar tender procedures, Parliament’s finance department ordered Patriots for Europe in 2025 to repay €276,967 in EU funds it said the group misused during the second half of 2024, Politico reported. A Parliament spokesperson told Politico that Parliament cooperates with relevant authorities when requested and had no further comment on the searches.
Read in depth: Politics
Full details of Burnham’s water overhaul may wait until 2027 spending review
A broad plan for England’s water sector is expected in December, but officials are still working through how greater public control would operate and what it might cost.
Great British Energy budget shifts toward nuclear preparation and a new grid venture
POLITICO reports that billions from the state energy company’s budget have been assigned to work beyond its original renewable generation plans, while ministers set out a new...
Sources and context
- Prosecutor searches far-right group offices in EU ParliamentPolitico Europe
- Patriots for Europe group says prosecutors raided its offices in European ParliamentReuters (republished by Yahoo News UK)
- Police search EU Parliament in former far-right group Identity & Democracy investigationThe Brussels Times
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.