European Radical Alliance

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European Radical Alliance
European Parliament group
ERA logo
Name European Radical Alliance
English abbr. ERA[1]
French abbr. ARE[2]
Formal name Group of the European Radical Alliance[3][4]
Ideology Radicalism,
Social liberalism,
Liberalism,
Regionalism
Associated organizations European Free Alliance
From July 19, 1994[5]
To July 20, 1999[2]
Preceded by Rainbow Group in the European Parliament
Succeeded by Greens/EFA
Chaired by Catherine Lalumière[6]
MEP(s) 19 (July 19, 1994),
21 (May 5, 1999),
13 (June 13, 1999)

Group of the European Radical Alliance was a centre-left political group with seats in the European Parliament between 1994 and 1999.

Contents

[edit] History

In 1989[2][5] the Rainbow Group split. The Greens went off to form the "Green Group", whilst the Regionalists stayed in the rump of Rainbow. The 1994 elections saw a considerable reduction in Regionalist representation in the Parliament, with only the Canary Isles Autonomist, Lega Nord, SNP and VU keeping their MEPs.[7] But Lega Nord had been suspended from the European Free Alliance following its decision to join the coalition Italian government alongside the far-right National Alliance.[7] Given this reduction in numbers, the weakened EFA were no longer able to maintain their own group.

The centre-left French Energie Radicale were considered centrist enough to be possible members of the ELDR group[8] (their successors, the Radical Party of the Left, became observers in the ELDR in 2006[9]) but instead they allied themselves with the members of the Italian Radicals and the rump EFA to form the Group of the European Radical Alliance.[2]

The ERA stayed in existence until 1999, when a loss of support forced the European Free Alliance members of the ERA to rejoin with the Green Group to create[2] the Greens/EFA group.


[edit] Member Parties at July 19, 1994

Member state Party MEPs Notes
France Energie Radicale[10][7] 13[10][7]
United Kingdom Scottish National Party[10][7] 2[10][7]
Italy Italian Radicals[10][7] 2[10][7]
Belgium Volksunie/Vlaamse Vrije Democraten[10][7] 1[10][7]
Spain Canarian Coalition[11] 1 Isidoro Sánchez García[11]

[edit] Sources

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Democracy in the European Parliament
  2. ^ a b c d e f G/EFA on Europe Politique
  3. ^ a b Group names 1999
  4. ^ a b European Parliament profile of Jaak Vandemeulebroucke
  5. ^ a b c Development of Political Groups in the European Parliament
  6. ^ a b European Parliament profile of Catherine Lalumière
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k de Winter, Lieven; Türsan, Huri (1998). Regionalist Parties in Western Europe. Routledge, pp. 190-201. ISBN 0415164370. 
  8. ^ a b OneEurope magazine, issue 11
  9. ^ a b ELDR State of the Party: Activity Report of the ELDR Party, April 1999 - October 2006
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i European Union Basics FAQ, Part 3
  11. ^ a b c European Parliament profile of Isidoro Sánchez García


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