Turkey “will never be in Europe”, Matteo Salvini has vowed, launching plans for an EU which “recognises [national] identity and culture” rather than one shaped around the demands of business and finance.

Speaking at a news conference in Milan on Monday, the Italian deputy prime minister, along with leaders of patriotic parties from across the bloc, announced the creation of the European Alliance of Peoples and Nations (EAPN) ahead of May’s EU Parliament elections.

“The news is that we are expanding the [eurosceptic] family, we are working for a new European dream. Today for many citizens and for many people Europe represents a nightmare and not a dream,” said Salvini, speaking alongside Alternative for Germany (AfD) leader Joerg Meuthen.

Halting EU accession talks for Islamist-run Turkey "would be a wrong signal towards those in Turkey who still long for European values”… https://t.co/GL5uA543rf — Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) April 19, 2018

The Danish People’s Party and the Finns Party of Finland were also in attendance at the Italian event, titled ‘Towards a Common Sense Europe, Peoples Rise Up’. France’s National Rally (RN) and Austria’s populist Freedom Party (FPO) confirmed they were also planning to be part of the new grouping.

“We aim to win [EU Parliament elections] and change Europe… We are working for the futures of our children,” Salvini told the conference, adding that the 27-member bloc “makes sense if it recognises identity and culture, rather than the nightmare if it were to look only towards business and finance”.

EU Commissioner Warns of ‘War’ Should ‘Nationalists’ Win in Europe https://t.co/4Mv5ogjOwG — Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) November 29, 2018

He also dismissed claims from globalist politicians and the media branding patriotic parties in Europe that wish to preserve their culture as dangerous extremists, telling reporters at the event: “The dangers are not in the past, as neither fascism nor communism will return.”

“Islamic extremism is the danger [now],” asserted the Italian vice-premier, before stating that Turkey “will never enter [Europe] under our watch. Never.”

“The EU chooses to pursue sanctions against Hungary and Poland while giving billions [of euros] to Turkey. The path to accession should not be suspended, but instead definitively cancelled,” he added, stressing that the majority-Muslim country “has nothing to do with Europe”.

Turkey’s Economic Collapse Could Send ‘Millions’ of Migrants into Europe, Analysts Warn https://t.co/t7dIoYb9M2 — Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) August 17, 2018