MILAN (AP) — Right-wing, euroskeptic populist parties in Europe announced a new, expanded alliance Monday that aims to become the strongest faction in the European Parliament and seeks to radically transform EU policies on migration, security, family and environment.

Italy's hard-line interior minister, Matteo Salvini, leader of the anti-migrant League party, told a press conference in Milan that the goal of the new movement in the EU-wide elections next month was to "win and change Europe."

He was joined by representatives of populist parties from Germany, Finland and Denmark.

At the top of their common agenda, the right-wing euroskeptics demanded a halt to all clandestine migration, stronger European borders, restoring political sovereignty to EU nations and protecting what they called "European culture."

Salvini rejected any characterizations that the movement, which includes far-right parties, is made up of political extremists flirting with Europe's totalitarian history.

"Today at this table there are no nostalgic extremists," Salvini said. "The only nostalgics are in power in Brussels. Today, we look ahead with a clear memory of what happened in the past, but the tired debate of right, left, fascist, communist, is not what makes us passionate."

Political experts say the May 23-26 European Parliament vote could prove to be a tipping point in post-war European politics, if traditional political powerhouses lose support and extremist, populist parties gain more clout.

The vote, which involves 705 seats this year, is run as national ballots in each of the bloc's states. National political parties with common ideology then unite in EU-wide groups, like the center-right EPP, the center-left S&D Socialists or the liberal, pro-business ALDE.

The new euroskeptic alliance, launched under the banner "Toward a Europe of common sense," expands on the parliament's four-year-old Europe of Nations and Freedom Group (ENF), which already includes France's far-right National Rally, Austria's Freedom Party and the Netherland's Party for Freedom.

Salvini was joined Monday by the far-right Alternative for Germany's co-leader Joerg Meuthen, Olli Kotro of the euroskeptic populist party The Finns, and Anders Vistisen of the right-wing, populist Danish People's Party. Those parties now come from other parliamentary groups, the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) and the Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy (EFDD).

Salvini identified Islamic extremism — not political extremism — as the main threat to security in Europe.

"As interior minister for 10 months, the No. 1 risk in Italy and Europe is Islamic extremism, Islamic fanaticism, Islamic terrorism," Salvini said. "There are extreme-right and extreme-left minorities in Italy and in Europe, (but) they fortunately are controlled and of limited numbers."

The leaders said their invitation was open to all like-minded parties to join the new bloc, which will be formed after the parliamentary election.

Salvini also said the new group, if it wins a European parliamentary majority, would cancel for good the process of inviting Turkey, a Muslim majority nation, to become a member of the European Union. That process has been already stalled for years, much to Turkey's anger.

The enlarged group will hold a rally May 18 in Milan's central Piazza Duomo.

Jan M. Olsen contributed from Copenhagen.