The Eurosceptic political group in the European Parliament, known as the Identity, Tradition and Sovereignty (ITS) group, was dissolved yesterday following the resignation of its Romanian members.

The group was co-chaired by Danish MEP Jens-Peter Bonde, known in Malta for the help given to the Maltese eurosceptics during the referendum campaign in 2003. He was against Malta joining the EU and openly supported the then anti-EU lobby headad by the No2EU and Kampanja Ghal Helsien Nazzjonali pressure groups.

The collapse of the ITS group was announced formally during yesterday's plenary session in Strasbourg.

The split follows derogatory comments made against Romanians by ITS Italian Mep Alessandra Mussolini, granddaughter of the Italian dictator. These comments sparked the resignation of four Romanian ITS members, causing the group's membership to fall below the minimum of the 20-member treshold required to form a political group under European parliament rules.

The announcement was met with sustained applause from MEPs.

"The good news is that the ultra-nationalists no longer exists and cannot use the money of the European taxpayer to support its xenophobia and neo-fascism," said Socialist leader Martin Schutz.

The leader of the Liberal group, Graham Watson said that the group had been a "casualty of their own philosophy which paints all foreigners into a single mould and encourages xenophobic and racist comments and remarks which have no place in the European Union".

He added that the irony of a Mussolini destroying the coherence of a far right group will not be lost on Europeans.

The group had been campaigning against the new EU Reform Treaty expected to be signed in Lisbon on December 13.