ROME -- After pro-EU ALDE leader Guy Verhofstadt refused a partnership with the Five Star Movement in Strasbourg, M5S decided to stay with Farage’s Euro-sceptic EFDD, Grillo said Wednesday.

 “Verhofstadt, who today poses as the negotiator for Brexit should be ashamed, because as a narrow-minded person, he caved under pressure of the establishment,” said Beppe Grillo on his blog, when announcing the move back to Farage’s Euro-sceptic Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy group.

 After the overwhelming online ‘yes’ vote from Five Star Movement members to move to the pro-EU group Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe from Farage's EFDD in Strasbourg, the parliamentary group head Guy Verhofstadt refused the partnership.

 “I have come to the conclusion that there are not sufficient guarantees to drive forward a common agenda to reform Europe,” said the head of ALDE Guy Verhofstadt, adding that “there is not enough common territory to proceed with the M5S’s request to join the ALDE group -- fundamental differences remain on key EU questions.”

 “Having failed to come to a deal with the ALDE group, we have respected the will expressed by the web, applying the second most-voted option -- staying with the EFDD group,” he said.

 “In the afternoon, Davide Casaleggio and I had a skype call with Nigel Farage, the ex-leader of the English delegation UKIP and the president of the EFDD group. We renewed the partnership, renouncing the role of co-presidency that up until today was occupied by David Borrelli,” the M5S politician, continued the Five Star leader on his blog.

 In his long blog post, Grillo also announced the new Five Star Movement politician responsible for communication in the European Parliament, Christina Belotti.

 According to EFDD sources, the conference call between Farage, Grillo and Casaleggio had “humorous” tones, but the main point was that the UKIP leader dictated three conditions, asking for the confirmation of the intention to propose a referendum on the Euro, but overall the exclusion of David Borrelli from the role of co-president of the group.”

 After the conference call, Farage joked that “from when I first met Grillo, I knew that the marriage with ALDE would not have lasted long, but I did not think it would have been as short as this…”

 “I am happy that every difference between Beppe Grillo’s movement and myself has been resolved in a friendly way,” concluded the EFDD president.

 The radical Five Star Movement's leader Beppe Grillo had called for a spontaneous vote on his online blog Sunday, asking MPs to vote on the movement’s future in the European Parliament. The result was an overwhelming 'yes' to the move, despite initial controversy within the party as MPs were not told about the decision to call a vote.

 Grillo wrote on his blog that "40,654 certified members participated -- 78.5 percent voted in favour of the move to ALDE, equal to 31,914 members. 6,444 voted to stay with EFDD and 2,296 voted to join those not part of any group."

 The decision had sparked controversy with M5S’s 17 MEPs, many of whom lamented the fact that they knew nothing of the decision. Some Italian newspapers said that the Five Star Movement’s leader had become pro-EU to get more funds.

 nkd