The National Party of Europe (NPE) was an initiative undertaken by a number of political parties in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

during the 1960s to help increase cross-border co-operation and work towards European unity. Under the direction of

Oswald Mosley Sir Oswald Ernald Mosley, 6th Baronet (16 November 1896 – 3 December 1980) was a British politician during the 1920s and 1930s who rose to fame when, having become disillusioned with mainstream politics, he turned to fascism. He was a member ...

, a pre-war British fascist leader who returned to politics after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the group aimed to bring together and merge a number of far-right groups from across the continent, all of which shared at least some commitment to a wider

pan-European nationalism European nationalism (sometimes called pan-European nationalism) is a form of nationalism based on a pan-European identity. It is considered minor since the National Party of Europe disintegrated in the 1970s. History The former British Union ...

. The group failed to achieve its aims as most of its member groups preferred to maintain their independence.

History

The idea of an NPE began when Oswald Mosley launched his

Europe a Nation Europe a Nation was a policy developed by the British fascist politician Oswald Mosley as the cornerstone of his Union Movement. It called for the integration of Europe into a single political entity. Although the idea failed to gain widespread ...

campaign after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

at a time when contemporaries such as

Jean-François Thiriart Jean-François Thiriart (22 March 1922, Brussels – 23 November 1992), often known as Jean Thiriart, was a Belgian political theorist. Coming from a left-wing background, during the Second World War he was a collaborator with the Nazi Third Rei ...

were also becoming interested in

Europeanism European values are the norms and values that Europeans are said to have in common, and which transcend national or state identity. In addition to helping promote European integration, this doctrine also provides the basis for analyses that charac ...

. Attempts soon followed to co-ordinate this growth in pan-European nationalism, although the

European Social Movement The European Social Movement (German: ''Europäische soziale Bewegung'', ESB) was a neo-fascist Europe-wide alliance set up in 1951 to promote pan-European nationalism. History The ESB had its origins in the emergence of the Italian Social Move ...

and the

New European Order The New European Order (NEO) was a neo-fascist, Europe-wide alliance set up in 1951 to promote pan-European nationalism. The NEO, led by René Binet and Gaston-Armand Amaudruz, was a more radical splinter group that broke away from the European ...

were loose networks and a more concrete alliance was called for. The idea came to fruition at the Conference of Venice in 1962 when the leaders of the

Union Movement The Union Movement (UM) was a far-right political party founded in the United Kingdom by Oswald Mosley. Before the Second World War, Mosley's British Union of Fascists (BUF) had wanted to concentrate trade within the British Empire, but the Uni ...

, the

Deutsche Reichspartei The Deutsche Reichspartei (DRP, ''German Reich Party'', ''German Imperial Party'' or ''German Empire Party'') was a nationalist, far-right and later Neo-Nazi political party in West Germany. It was founded in 1950 from the German Right Party (ger ...

, the Italian Social Movement,

Jeune Europe Jeune (29 March 1989 – 4 January 2006) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse who raced in England and Australia and is best known for winning the prestigious Melbourne Cup in 1994. He was a muscular chestnut stallion who sometimes raced in pac ...

and the

Mouvement d'Action Civique Mouvement d'Action Civique was a minor far-right political movement in Belgium during the 1960s. The origins of the MAC lay in the 1960 independence of the Belgian Congo and the resulting Congo Crisis which saw the vast majority of white colonials, ...

came together to form this group. The European Declaration at Venice was released on 1 March 1962 and contained the following ten aims: * The creation of Europe a Nation through a common European government. * The creation of an elected European parliament. * The continuation of national parliaments with their authority limited to social and cultural matters. * Economics to be driven by the wage-price mechanism to ensure fair wages and economic growth. * The creation of an economic alternative to capitalism and communism. * More worker control and less bureaucracy in nationalized industries. * The withdrawal of

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

and

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...

forces from Europe. * An end to the role of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

with the US, USSR and Europe acting as three equals. *

Decolonization Decolonization or decolonisation is the undoing of colonialism, the latter being the process whereby imperial nations establish and dominate foreign territories, often overseas. Some scholars of decolonization focus especially on separatism, in ...

with a move to set up single-ethnic governments in former colonies. * Europe to be defined as mainland territory outside of the USSR, the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, overseas territories and around one-third of

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

. The conference also decided that each member party should seek to change its name to NPE or the local equivalent, that the motto of the new group should be 'Progress - Solidarity - Unity' and that the Flash and Circle should serve as the emblem of the movement. Despite the high ambitions, the idea did not come to much. Both the Italian Social Movement and the

National Democratic Party of Germany The National Democratic Party of Germany (german: Nationaldemokratische Partei Deutschlands or NPD) is a far-right Neo-Nazi and ultranationalist political party in Germany. The party was founded in 1964 as successor to the German Reich Part ...

, successor to the Deutsche Reichspartei, refused to change their name and only set up a permanent liaison office.Richard Thurlow, ''Fascism in Britain: A History, 1918-1985'', Basil Blackwell, 1987, p. 247 Meanwhile, Thiriart moved increasingly away from the NPE and towards

national communism National communism represents various forms in which Marxism–Leninism and socialism has been adopted and/or implemented by leaders in different countries using aspects of nationalism or national identity to form a policy independent from commu ...

. As well as this, many of the leading neo-fascist groups in Europe took no part in the NPE. Mosley meanwhile had little day-to-day contact with the Union Movement from his base in France and he retired from politics altogether after his poor showing in Shoreditch and Finsbury at the 1966 general election, effectively drawing the curtain on the NPE. A group called European Action continues to agitate for the aims of the NPE through its newspaper of the same name, edited by Robert Edwards, although it is an almost exclusively British movement.European Action

Members

References

{{Authority control Far-right politics in Europe Pan-European political parties Pan-European nationalism Neo-fascist parties Political parties established in 1962 Oswald Mosley

History

Members

See also

References