Austria's far-right politician Jorg Haider has hosted a meeting of Europe's right-wing leaders, according to newspaper reports.
The groups - including Belgium's Vlaams Blok, Haider's own Freedom Party and the Italian Northern League - discussed the possibility of a joint list for the European Parliament elections in 2003.
Support for the far right has been growing across Europe. As well as holding formal government positions in Italy and Austria, far-right populist and anti-immigration parties now have important political influence in Portugal, Norway, Denmark and the Netherlands.
That the far-right are co-ordinating their efforts across Europe should come as a reminder to the left that we need to be doing the same. But in many countries the left has failed to achieve even national unity, never mind Europe-wide action.
A key debate at the European Social Forum in Florence this November must be how left parties can work together in the run-up to the euro-elections - and how we can co-ordinate our campaigns in the meantime across the continent.
