| Stars shine but not the space dust that forms them. What is true for space is true for the European Parliament’s constellation of far-right groups which emerged to much media fanfare, while the greyed-out part of hemicycle graphics from which they emerged, otherwise known as the non-inscrits, has remained overlooked – until now. “Non-inscrit” is a Frenchism imported into the wonderfully accommodating variant of English spoken in Brussels. Translated literally as “non-attached”, the term is a catch-all for MEPs not associated with one of the European Parliament’s political groups. Beyond that, non-inscrits are defined by what they are not. The downsides of being a non-inscrit A spokesperson for the European Parliament explained that while the parliament secretariat is there to support all members, there are several limitations to going alone. On funding, the budget for secretariat and communications support is split 60:40 with 60% divided per MEP, but the other 40% being distributed by group size, which is out of reach for the non-inscrits. Sitting outside the group structure also makes tabling amendments and motions in plenary harder as non-inscrits must persuade enough individual supporting MEPs to sign on, instead of calling on group help. The spokeperson further explained that non-inscrits do not ordinarily participate in fact-finding missions, they can’t ask oral questions to the Commission, and they only have the speaking time remaining after distribution between the party groups has taken place. The Conference of Presidents, composed of group leaders and President Roberta Metsola, does have a non-inscrit representative, but without a vote. How have the numbers changed over time? Since the birth of the European Parliament, the proportion of non-inscrits has trended upward. This trend has accompanied the EU’s enlargement from nine to 27 countries, and increasing political fragmentation within individual countries. With the establishment of three far-right groups, and some non-inscrits still expected to find a political home, it looks like the new cohort of MEPs will buck this trend. | 
