The first far-right political group in more than a decade has formed in the European Parliament. The Identity, Sovereignty and Tradition group, made public on January 10, consists of 20 Parliament members from seven different member nations.

The group, barely meeting the required number of Parliament members needed to exist, will enjoy benefits not otherwise granted to independent extreme-right members. It will receive 1 million euros in funding and a seat on the Parliament’s conference of presidents. The seat will give members certain speaking privileges, such as more speaking time in more attractive time slots, which will allow them to voice their anti-immigration and anti-enlargement views. The group also opposes the construction of a more centralized European Union at the expense of national sovereignty and has a strong commitment to Christian values.

The group’s roster includes notable right-wing politicians such as Italy’s Alessandra Mussolini, granddaughter of World War ii fascist dictator Benito Mussolini, and Austrian politician Andreas Mölzer, once booted out of an Austrian far-right party for being too extreme.

While the faction will have little influence on EU business, its creation does make a statement for Europe. It “is a sad reflection of the reality of today’s Europe,” said Daniel Cohn-Bendit, leader of the Greens in the European Parliament.

These 20 members make up a small percentage of the 785-seat Parliament. However, some of their political beliefs, such as their strong anti-immigration sentiment and support of Roman Catholic values, may grow more popular with the larger political parties in the future, especially with racial tension building across Europe between Catholic and Muslim populations.

Some of the mainstream members of the European Parliament have expressed concern over certain of the views of the extremists. “It gives us something to think about and work on, because if we don’t pay attention … the extreme right or left will get stronger in years to come,” said Joseph Daul, head of the conservative parliamentary group.

Such concern is not unfounded, seeing as far-right parties have been making strong gains across Europe in national and local elections. While not necessarily indicating that such parties will continue to gain political ground, it does reflect the fact that their views are becoming increasingly popular in Europe. As immigration—particularly Muslim immigration—becomes a bigger issue for Europeans, we can expect them to become more and more open to the emergence of a coming strong leader who will promise a solution.