Former Czech PM Andrej Babiš quits liberal Renew group in EU Parliament – POLITICO

ANO is also set to quit the pan-European umbrella family of liberal parties known as ALDE.

“Renew and ALDE have different positions to the ANO movement,” Babiš said at the press conference.

In a statement, ALDE said: “While regretting that the ANO party has chosen a path taking them further from liberal values, the ALDE Party and its partners in the European Parliament remain united in our mission to promote our liberal values and we shall continue to do so, reflecting the trust invested in us by voters.”

Babiš has long been at odds with many in the liberal family as he has veered into populism and spoken out vehemently against the European Green Deal and the EU’s policy on migration.

“We went to the elections to fight illegal migration, to change the Green Deal, which is destroying our European industry and agriculture and is having a negative impact on our citizens,” Babiš said.

His decision to quit will likely come as some relief to those on the more socially progressive side of Renew, including Macron’s MEPs. This week, a letter sent by the five MEPs from the pan-European Volt to party members remarked that one of the reasons they preferred joining the Greens rather than Renew was that the “populist” party of Babiš was at the time a member of Renew.