Movement for European Reform

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Movement for European Reform

Bewegung für europäische Reform Mouvement pour la réforme européenne Movimento per la riforma europea Movimiento para la reforma europea



President	none appointed

Founded	July 13, 2006
Headquarters	25 Victoria Street, London SW1H 0DL

Political Ideology	Economic liberalism, Euroscepticism, Atlanticism^[1]
International Affiliation	International Democrat Union
European Parliament Group	none established, all members presently within EPP-ED
Colours	dark blue

Website	www.europeanreform.eu

See also	Politics of the EU Political parties Elections

European Union
This article is part of the series: Politics and government of the European Union

Treaties Rome Maastricht (Pillars) Amsterdam Nice Lisbon Institutions Commission President José Manuel Barroso Barroso Commission Parliament President Hans-Gert Pöttering MEPs (2004-09 term Council Presidency: Slovenia (Dimitrij Rupel) High Representative Voting European Council Other & Future Institutions Court of Justice Court of Auditors Central Bank Elections Last election (2004) 2007 by-election Next election (2009) Constituencies Parties Parliamentary groups Related topics States Enlargement Foreign relations Law EMU Other bodies Agencies
Other countries · Atlas Politics Portal view • talk • edit

The Movement for European Reform (MER) founded on 13 July 2006, is an attempted effort to create a eurosceptic pan-European alliance of centre-right national political parties.

1 History
2 Members
3 Goals, form and function
4 See also
5 References
6 External links

[edit] History

The European Democratic Group was formed on July 17, 1979 by the British Conservatives, Danish Conservatives and other MEPs after their success in the 1979 elections. It supplanted the earlier European Conservative Group. In the late seventies and early eighties, the ED was the third-largest group in the Parliament.

During the 2005 Conservative leadership contest, the eventual winner David Cameron pledged to withdraw the Conservatives from the EPP-ED coalition, while opponent David Davis argued in a letter to the editor of the Daily Telegraph that the current ED arrangement allowed the Conservatives to maintain suitable distance from EPP while still having influence in the largest parliamentary grouping. Conservative/EPP-ED MEP Martin Callanan responded in that paper the following day:

SIR - David Davis (Letter, November 10) is sadly misinformed about our Conservative MEPs' relationship with the European People's Party (EPP) in the European Parliament. He claims that "Conservatives are members of the European Democrat group, which forms an alliance with the EPP". In reality, though, the ED does not exist. It has no staff or money and is, in effect, a discussion group within the EPP. […] Far from being a symbolic step, as Mr Davis suggests, leaving the EPP is the one hard, bankable commitment to have come out of this leadership campaign.

The Conservatives and Ulster Unionists of the United Kingdom, together with the Czech Civic Democrats are now expected to leave the European Democrats (effectively dissolving it through lack of members, as only one Italian will be left), which is currently allied to the European People's Party (EPP); instead, the parties have formed the Movement for European Reform (MER).^[2]

Although the Conservatives alone have the minimum required number of MEPs with 28 of the required 19, they would still need to join with parties from three other countries to formally create a group. There has been speculation that two Polish parties, Law and Justice and Civic Platform, would join the proposed grouping. However latter has stated that it will not leave the EPP and the former plans to stay aligned to AEN,^[3] although if Fianna Fáil and National Alliance were to leave that group it might lose influence enough for Law and Justice to consider moving.

Another possible party is the Latvian For Fatherland and Freedom and Latvian National Independence Movement coalition which is also currently aligned with AEN. There are also numerous independents that might join the group. The most optimistic estimates suggest MER could become the third largest group in the Parliament with around 100 MEP's.^[4]

[edit] Members

In the first week of March 2007, under Petar Stoyanov, the Bulgarian Union of Democratic Forces (UDF) decided to join. A day after the UDF's announcement, the Presidency of the European People's Party (EPP) recommended the suspension of the membership of the Bulgarian UDF from the EPP. The President of the EPP Wilfried Martens justified the decision, arguing that:

It is not compatible for a member party of the EPP to join such an initiative and at the same time remain in our party. The EPP is committed to reforming the European Union (EU) and we are open for constructive dialogue with our non-EPP allies but, at the same time, we expect UDF to be loyal and committed to its membership obligations.^[5]^[6]

In mid April 2007, the UDF backtracked on its decision, stating that it remains loyal to the EPP and that it will never leave the EPP section of the EPP-ED Group to join another Group. A month later, in the first-ever elections for the European Parliament in Bulgaria (May 20, 2007) the UDF failed to elect any seats. As a result, Petar Stoyanov - who was accused by his critics of making poor decisions during the campaign, including the MER choice - resigned as UDF leader. In September 2007, the UDF formally withdrew from the MER and re-affirmed its membership with the EPP.^[7]

Sir Reg Empey, leader of the Ulster Unionist Party, has also publicly indicated support for the new group, and suggested that the UUP may also move from the ED to an MER group after the 2009 election.^[8] It is unclear whether the UUP, which has 1 MEP, will formalise a relationship with MER before then.

It was reported that the French Rally For France party were interested in joining the Movement for European Reform, but have not been mentioned in plans for the new group.

[edit] Goals, form and function

The current composition of the European Parliament

Its position would be that the European Union should exist; however, it should be a looser supranational organisation than the current structure. This would make it more eurosceptic than the EPP, and less eurosceptic than the Union for Europe of the Nations and the Independence and Democracy group.

Since its launch, it is unclear as to whether the MER will function akin to (and/or qualify for EU funding like) other European-level political movements such as the European People's Party and Party of European Socialists. The body's founding statement does expressly offer membership to parties from non-EU member states, a characteristic in common with other pan-European political parties, and its commitment to fight the 2009 election together suggests an appetite for recognition under the Parties Directive.

The MER is to be the basis of a new political group in the European Parliament, which its members have now committed to initiate after the 2009 European election. Until then, both the Conservatives and ODS will continue as members of the ED subgroup within the broader EPP-ED group.

"The new group will be established immediately after the 2009 elections", the UK conservative party chief David Cameron said in March 2007. Yet, at the same time, his Czech counterpart Mirek Topolánek (ODS) “has not ruled out the possibility of staying in the European People's Party and European Democrats" (EPP-ED, the Parliament's most powerful political grouping).^[9] In June 21, 2007, Mirek Topolánek also attended the Summit of heads of state and government of the European People's Party, adding speculation about the fragility of the MER project.^[10]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

^ Movement for European Reform. Movement for European Reform (2007). Retrieved on 2008-05-27.
^ Cameron Euro declaration. BBC News (2006). Retrieved on 2008-05-27.
^ The Tories and the EPP. BBC News (2006). Retrieved on 2008-05-27.
^ The Tories and their EU allies. BBC News (2007). Retrieved on 2007-07-11.
^ EPP Presidency suspends Bulgarian UDF - EPP President reveals reform plan in article. European People's Party (2007). Retrieved on 2008-05-28.
^ EPP Suggests ceased membership for Bulgaria's UDF. The Sofia Echo (2008). Retrieved on 2008-05-28.
^ EPP withdraws motion to suspend Bulgarian party. European People's Party (2008). Retrieved on 2008-05-28.
^ "Could the UUP be ready to leave the European Democrats?", Belfast Newsletter, 2006-07-14. Retrieved on 2008-05-28.
^ Will Mirek really leave the EPP-ED?. EUobserver (2007). Retrieved on 2008-05-28.
^ 16 Heads of State meet at an EPP summit. European People's Party (2007). Retrieved on 2008-05-28.

[edit] External links

v • d • e Pan-European political organisations

EU-recognised as "European level political party"	Democratic Party · EUDemocrats · Free Alliance · Green Party · Independent Democrats · Left · Liberal Democrat and Reform Party · Europe of the Nations · People's Party · Socialists

Other confederations of national parties	Anticapitalist Left · Christian Political Movement · Euronat · National Front · Nordic Green Left Alliance · Movement for European Reform · Platform for Transparency

Dedicated EU parties	Europe – Democracy – Esperanto

Politics Portal · National parties by European organisation · Political groups of the European Parliament · European Parliamentary Election · Party composition of the Council

v • d • e Political groups of the European Parliament

Far-Right Nationalists	European Right (1984–1989) • European Right (1989–1994) • Identity, Tradition, Sovereignty (2007)

National Conservatives	European Democratic Union (1965–1973) • European Progressive Democrats (1973–1984) • European Democratic Alliance (1984–1995) • Union for Europe (1995–1999) • Union for Europe of the Nations (1999–present)

Christian Democrats/Conservatives	Christian Democrats (1953–1979) • European People's Party (1979–1999) • European Conservatives (1973–1979) • European Democrats (1979–1992) • Forza Europa (1994–1995) • European People's Party–European Democrats (1999–present)

Liberals/Centrists	Liberals and Allies (1953–1976) • Liberals and Democrats (1976–1985) • Liberal and Democratic Reformist Group (1985–1994) • European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party (1994–2004) • European Radical Alliance (1994–1999) • Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (2004–present)

Social Democrats	Socialists (1953–1993) • Party of European Socialists (1993–present)

Communists/Far-Left	Communists and Allies (1973–1989) • European United Left (1989–1993) • Left Unity (1989–1994) • European United Left (1994–1995) • European United Left–Nordic Green Left (1995–present)

Greens/Regionalists	Rainbow Group (1984–1989) • Rainbow Group (1989–1994) • Greens (1989–1999) • Greens–European Free Alliance (1999–present)

Eurosceptics	Europe of Nations (1994–1996) • Independents for a Europe of Nations (1996–1999) • Europe of Democracies and Diversities (1999–2004) • Independence/Democracy (2004–present)

Heterogeneous	Technical Group of Independents (1979–1984) • Technical Group of Independents (1999–2001)

Independents	Non-Inscrits (1958–present)

This article about the European Union is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

This article about a European political party is a stub . You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

Movement for European Reform

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] Members

[edit] Goals, form and function

[edit] See also

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Views

Navigation

Interaction

Search

Languages