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According to two internal post-Brexit projections from the Parliament, ID, which has 73 members (none British), is set to gain three new seats, bringing its total to 76 MEPs.
By contrast, the Greens, which have 75 MEPs, will lose 11 British members and gain only four seats, which means they will have 68 MEPs. [...]
“We will become the fourth group in the Parliament and we are very proud of that,” said Harald Vilimsky, an MEP from Identity and Democracy and the secretary-general of Austria’s Euroskeptic Freedom Party (FPÖ).
Despite winning fewer seats than expected in May's European election, the Identity and Democracy group, with the help of powerful and popular parties like Italy’s League, France’s National Rally and the FPÖ, went from being minor and marginalized to the fifth-largest force in the chamber.
The change is unlikely to alter the control of pro-EU parties over big EU files like climate or industrial policy. But Euroskeptic MEPs, who have been isolated for decades, will have more speaking time in the Parliament's plenary sessions and will speak before the Greens, have better chances to get legislative reports, and a higher probability that one of their members will lead a parliamentary committee. [...]