European Democratic Party

This article is about the European party. For the Czech party, see European Democratic Party (Czech Republic). For other uses, see European Democrats (disambiguation).
European Democratic Party
President François Bayrou and Francesco Rutelli
Secretary-General Marielle de Sarnez
Founded 9 December 2004 (2004-12-09)
Headquarters Rue de l'Industrie 4, 1000 Brussels, Belgium
Youth wing Young Democrats for Europe (YDE)
Ideology Centrism[1]
Pro-Europeanism
Social liberalism
Christian left
Political position Centre
European Parliament group Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe
Colours Orange and blue
Political foundation Institute of European Democrats
Website
http://www.pde-edp.eu/

The European Democratic Party (EDP) is a centrist[2][3][4] European political party in favour of European integration. It was initiated on 16 April 2004 and formally founded on 9 December 2004 in Brussels. François Bayrou of the French Democratic Movement (MoDem) and Francesco Rutelli of the Alliance for Italy serve as the two co-presidents.

The EDP was founded in reaction to the rising influence of Eurosceptic parties within European institutions. It drew pro-European centrist parties from the European People's Party (EPP) group to form a new centrist multinational bloc. Its co-founder François Bayrou described it as a party for people being neither conservative nor socialist, like the United States Democratic Party.

Since the beginning of the 6th European Parliament of 2004–2009, the EDP has formed a joint European parliamentary group with the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) party called the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) group. Although ALDE Party and EDP MEPs continue to sit together in the same parliamentary group, the two European political parties remain separate entities.

The youth wing of the EDP is the Young Democrats for Europe.

Membership

Member parties

Country or Region Party European MPs
 Belgium Citizens' Movement for Change (Mouvement des Citoyens pour le Changement)
1 / 22
1 / 8
 Croatia National Forum (Nacionalni forum)
0 / 11
 Cyprus Citizens' Alliance (Συμμαχία Πολιτών, Symmachia Politon)
0 / 6
 France Democratic Movement (Mouvement démocrate)
4 / 74
 France Union of Democrats and Independents (Union des Démocrates et Indépendants)
3 / 74
 Germany Free Voters (Freie Wähler)
1 / 96
 Italy Alliance for Italy (Alleanza per l'Italia)
0 / 73
 Poland Alliance of Democrats (Stronnictwo Demokratyczne)
0 / 51
 Portugal Democratic Republican Party (Partido Democrático Republicano)
1 / 21
 Romania Association of Italians of Romania (Asociaţia Italienilor din România, Associazione degli Italiani in Romania)
0 / 32
 San Marino Popular Alliance (Alleanza Popolare) N/A
 Slovakia European Democratic Party (Europska Demokraticka Strana)
0 / 13
 Slovakia Democratic Slovakia Party (Strana Demokratického Slovenska)
0 / 13
 Spain Basque Nationalist Party (Euzko Alderdi Jeltzalea)
1 / 54
 Greece Union of Centrists (Ένωση Κεντρώων)
0 / 21

Additionally, other independent MEPs, national and regional deputies have also integrated into the EDP:

Country or Region Person Party Member of
 Cyprus Nicos Koutsou Independent House of Representatives
 Ireland Marian Harkin Independent European Parliament
 Germany Ulrike Müller Free Voters European Parliament
 Germany Gabi Schmidt Free Voters Landtag of Bavaria
 Italy Gianluca Susta Independent Senate of the Republic
 Slovenia Ivo Vajgl DeSUS European Parliament
 Slovakia Igor Hraško Ordinary People National Council
 Spain Narvay Quintero Canarian Coalition Senate of Spain

Former member parties

Elected representatives of Member Parties

European institutions

Organisation Institution Number of seats
 European Union European Commission
0 / 27
 European Union European Council
(Heads of Government)
0 / 27
 European Union Council of the EU
(Participation in Government)
0 / 27
 European Union European Parliament
9 / 736
 Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly
5 / 318

References

  1. ↑ Parties and Elections in Europe: The database about parliamentary elections and political parties in Europe, by Wolfram Nordsieck
  2. ↑ John McCormick (2015). European Union Politics. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 247. ISBN 978-1-137-45340-2.
  3. ↑ Lars Pehrson (12 June 2009). How Unified Is the European Union?: European Integration Between Visions and Popular Legitimacy. Springer. p. 160. ISBN 978-3-540-95855-0.
  4. ↑ Oskar Niedermayer (1 May 2013). Handbuch Parteienforschung. Springer. p. 831. ISBN 978-3-531-18932-1.

External links

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