European right-wing figures meet with House Speaker Mike Johnson in Washington

European right-wing figures met with House Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday evening at a reception in Washington.

The event marked the opening of the Alliance of Sovereign Nations conference, organized by Republican Representative Anna Paulina Luna of Florida and supported by Turning Point USA, the conservative organization founded by activist Charlie Kirk.

Johnson served as the event’s headliner. However, the conference featured mostly secondary-level speakers, including recent Romanian presidential candidate George Simion and mid-level officials from Austria, Belgium, Georgia, Cyprus, Croatia, Serbia, and Germany.

No officials from the Trump administration were listed among the speakers.

Simion, leader of the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR)—who holds a significant lead over his centrist rivals according to the POLITICO Poll of Polls—stated, “The MAGA movement is extremely important for Romanians, especially for the conservative-patriotic segment that identifies with MAGA values and policies.”

Simion expressed his anticipation at seeing Johnson, whom he met at Donald Trump’s 2025 inauguration and described as “one of our friends in Washington.”

Luna has cultivated relationships with like-minded European lawmakers, similar to several other Republican members of Congress.

David Leatherwood, a spokesperson for Luna, stated that these meetings are focused on “understanding the political landscape in Europe, hearing concerns firsthand, and fostering a candid dialogue on transatlantic issues.”

He added that this week’s conference would foster dialogue on energy, freedom of speech, and immigration.

While supporters describe this conference as an “anti-World Economic Forum” event, Leatherwood noted that such conferences often “leave normal citizens out of conversations about policy issues that directly affect them, both at the national and international level.”

He further highlighted “growing concerns regarding censorship in Europe, political exclusion, and the narrowing of acceptable public discourse,” adding that Luna believes “it is important to listen directly to opposition and dissenting voices” on the issues discussed during the conference.

A spokesperson for the Republican leader stated:

“Speaker Johnson speaks with members, individuals, groups, and organizations of all faiths and political persuasions on an almost daily basis. If he declined every invitation where there might be participants with views different from his own—including this invitation which he attended in his personal capacity—he would not be able to accept speaking requests.”

Barbara Bonte, a member of the right-wing Vlaams Belang party in the European Parliament (Belgium), said, “The conference is an opportunity to participate in this transatlantic dialogue and a sign that the European-American dialogue, contrary to popular belief, is not dead; it is just shifting gears.”

Petra Steger, a right-wing MP for the FPÖ (Austria), noted, “We share a range of political priorities with the MAGA movement. These include pushing for greater freedom of expression online and working to end mass migration, which we believe is disproportionately affecting Western nations.”

When asked whether a formal alliance has been established between these transatlantic movements, Simion sent the following message:

“We wish for conservative and patriotic parties to cooperate and come to power. The United States, the most important country in the world, has such an administration, and we want to build stronger ties with them.”

Luna’s office indicated that no formal alliance has been announced “at this time.”

Meetings between MAGA figures and their European counterparts are increasingly frequent. In December, Luna hosted lawmakers from the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

The US Department of State has considered supporting like-minded think tanks in Europe. Last week, a State Department official hosted British anti-Muslim activist “Tommy Robinson.”