Bulgaria and Romania's EU accession helped gypsy-haters, holocaust-deniers, xenophobes, homophobes, anti-semites form formal political grouping and win bigger funding and political influence in the European Parliament (EP).

A series of elections across the EU brought nationalistic far-right parties into office and respectively to the EP. Bulgaria and Romania's accession brought the number of far-right MEPs up to the quota needed for forming a political grouping, The Independent said.

Despite formal protests, 20 far-right MEPs formed a grouping called Identity, Tradition, Sovereignty (ITS) on January 15 2007. The new formation would receive up to one million euro of central funding. French National Front MEP Bruno Gollnisch was selected leader of the formation, The Independent said.

EP socialist group leader Martin Schulz said that the other MEPs should deprive ITS from access to senior positions in Strasbourg. "We must not abandon this Parliament, which symbolises the integration of Europe, to those who deny all European values," he said.

Ultra-nationalist grouping formation included Bulgarian MEP Dimitar Stoyanov who on January 15 2007 accused Roma population of selling their children into prostitution, The Independent said.

ITS would be able to suggest amendments and would eventually win a chairman or a deputy chairman position in some committees, Stoyanov said.