Political groups of the European Parliament
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The European Parliament is unique among supranational assemblies because it organizes itself around ideological, rather than national, groups.[1] These political groups of the European Parliament are groups of MEPs. In some cases a Group is the formal representation of a European political party in the Parliament, in others it is a political coalition of a number of European parties, national parties and independent politicians.
Groups are not parties, but looser coalitions. But each Group is assumed to have a set of core principles, and Groups that cannot demonstrate this may be disbanded (see below). These core principles fall into distinct categories, and those categories encompass the whole range of political thought.
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[edit] Requirements and privileges
Working together in Groups benefits European political parties: for example, the European Free Alliance (5 MEPs) and the European Greens (37 MEPs) have more power by working together in the European Greens–European Free Alliance Group (42 MEPs) than they would have as stand-alone parties, bringing their causes much-needed additional support. Further incentives for co-operating in Groups include financial subsidies from the Parliament and guaranteed seats on committees[2] which are not afforded to Independent MEPs.
For a Group to be formally recognised in the Parliament, it must fulfil the conditions laid down in Rule 29 of the European Parliament's Rules of Procedure. That Rule states that a Group must have MEPs elected in at least one-fifth of the Member States, must have at least twenty MEPs, must contain no MEP that is a member of another Group, and its MEPs must have a common political affinity. Provided these conditions are met, MEPs can theoretically create any Group they like. This was put to the test when MEPs attempted to create a far-right Group called "Identity, Tradition, Sovereignty" (ITS). This generated controversy and there were concerns about public funds going towards a far-right Group.[2] Attempts to block the formation of ITS were unsuccessful, but they were blocked from gaining leading positions on committees, a right meant to be afforded to all Groups.[3]
These events spurred MEPs, mainly from the largest two groups, to approve a rise in the threshold for groups. Following the next election, the minimum number of MEPs to form a group will be 25, and they will have to be drawn from seven rather than six states. This was opposed by many MEPs, including the Liberal group, for being detrimental to democracy, while supporters argued that 2.5% of MEPs could still form a group while making it harder fro the far right to claim EU funds (however, the new rules would also close the two other smallest groups in Parliament).[4]
[edit] Organisation
Groups may be based around a single European political party (e.g. the Socialist Group) or they can include more than one European party as well as national parties and independents[5] (e.g. the Liberal Group).
Each Group appoints a leader, referred to as a "president", "co-ordinator" or "chair", who decides which way the Group should vote in Parliament. The chairs of each Group meet in the Conference of Presidents to decide what issues will be dealt with at the plenary session of the European Parliament. Groups can table motions for resolutions and table amendments to reports.
[edit] Current
[edit] Party relations
The Parliament does not form a government in the traditional sense and its politics have developed over consensual rather than adversarial lines.[6] No single group has ever held a majority in Parliament.[7] The two largest Groups are the Conservative and Christian Democrat Group (EPP-ED) and the Socialist Group (PES), which are based around the European political parties called the European People's Party (EPP) and the Party of European Socialists (also called PES). These two Groups have dominated the Parliament for much of its life, continuously holding between 50 and 70 percent of the seats together. The Socialists were the largest single party up to 1999, when they were overtaken by the People's Party.[8][9]
In 1987 the Single European Act came into force and, under the new cooperation procedure, the Parliament needed to obtain large majorities to make the most impact. So the People's Party and the Socialists came to an agreement to cooperate in the Parliament.[10] This agreement became known as the "grand coalition" and, aside from a break in the fifth Parliament,[11] it has dominated the Parliament for much of its life, regardless of necessity. The grand coalition is visible in the agreement between the two Groups to divide the five-year term of the President of the European Parliament equally between them, with a Socialist President for half the term and a People's President for the other half, regardless of the actual election result.[6]
[edit] Position of the liberals
Liberal Group leader Graham Watson MEP has denounced the grand coalition and has described the aim for the liberals in the following terms: "the challenge for us is not only to break the inherent conservatism of the grand coalition, where a failing EPP Europe is propped up by a Socialist poodle pinching the crumbs from the table" also expressing a desire to ensure that the posts of Commission President, Council President, Parliament President and High Representative are not carved up in an agreement between a the two groups to the exclusion of third parties.[12]
During the fifth term it was the liberals who were involved in a break in the grand coalition when they entered into an alliance with the People's Party, to the exclusion of the Socialists.[11] This was reflected in the Presidency of the Parliament with the terms being shared between the EPP and the ELDR, rather than the EPP and PES[13] as before. In the following term the liberals grew to 88 seats becoming the "Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe". This was the largest number of seats held by any third party in Parliament.[12]
[edit] Break in the coalition
However liberal intervention has not been the only cause for a break in the grand coalition. There have been specific occasions where real left-right party politics have emerged, notably the resignation of the Santer Commission. When the initial allegations against the Commission Budget emerged, they were directed primarily against the Socialists Édith Cresson and Manuel Marín. PES supported the Commission and saw the issue as an attempt by the EPP to discredit their party ahead of the 1999 elections. EPP disagreed. Whilst the Parliament was considering rejecting the Community budget, President Jacques Santer argued that a "No" vote would be tantamount to a vote of no confidence. PES leader Pauline Green MEP attempted a vote of confidence and the EPP put forward counter motions. During this period the two Groups adopted a government-opposition dynamic, with PES supporting the executive and EPP renouncing its previous coalition support and voting it down.[14]
In 2004 there was another notable break in the grand coalition. It occurred over the nomination of Rocco Buttiglione as European Commissioner for Justice, Freedom and Security. The People's Party supported the appointment of Buttiglione, while the Socialists, who were also critics of the President-designate Jose Manuel Barroso, led the parties seeking Buttiglione's removal following his rejection (the first in EU history) by a Parliamentary committee. Barroso initially stood by his team and offered only small concessions, which were rejected by the Socialists. The People's Party demanded that if Buttiglione were to go, then a Socialist commissioner must also be sacrificed for balance.[15] In the end, Italy withdrew Buttiglione and put forward Franco Frattini instead. Frattini won the support of the Socialists and the Barroso Commission was finally approved, albeit behind schedule.[16] Politicisation such as the above has been increasing, with Simon Hix of the London School of Economics noting in 2007 that[17]
| “ | Our work also shows that politics in the European Parliament is becoming increasingly based around party and ideology. Voting is increasingly split along left-right lines, and the cohesion of the party groups has risen dramatically, particularly in the fourth and fifth parliaments. So there are likely to be policy implications here too. | ” |
[edit] History
| Conservative/Christian Democrat (CD,EPP (79-92),EPP (92-99),FE,EPP-ED) Conservatives only (C,ED,MER) Social Democrats (S,SOC,PES) Communist/Far-Left (COM,LU,EUL,EUL/NGL) Liberal/Centrist (L,LD,LDR,ERA,ELDR,ALDE) National Conservatives (UDE,EPD,EDA,UFE,UEN) Greens only (G) Green/Regionalist (RBW (84-89),RBW (89-94),G/EFA) Heterogeneous (CDI,TGI) Independents (NI) Eurosceptics (EN,I-EN,EDD,IND/DEM) Far-Right Nationalist (ER,DR,ITS) |
[edit] Overview
The first three Groups were established in the earliest days of the Parliament. They were the "Socialist Group" (which eventually became PES), the "Christian Democrat Group" (later EPP-ED) and the "Liberals and Allies Group" (later ALDE).
As the Parliament developed, other Groups emerged. Gaullists from France founded the European Democratic Union Group.[18] When Conservatives from Denmark and the United Kingdom joined, they created the European Conservatives Group, which (after some name changes) eventually merged with the European People's Party Group.[19]
The 1979 first direct election established further groups and the establishment of European political parties such as the European People's Party.[20] A full breakdown of Groups by complexion and timeline is given below.
[edit] Far-Right Nationalists
In European politics, a grouping of nationalist parties constitute the sector often labelled as 'far right'. They have found it difficult to cohere in a continuous Group: their distaste for other countries and the European Union make it difficult for them to form and maintain pan-European coalitions, and the distaste of other MEPs for them makes it difficult for them to translate any coalitions into a Group. The first far-right Group was founded by the French National Front and the Italian Social Movement in 1984[18][21] under the name of the "Group of the European Right",[18][21] and it lasted until 1989.[21][22] Its successor, the "Technical Group of the European Right",[23][21] existed from 1989[21] to 1994.[21] There was then a gap of thirteen years until "Identity, Tradition, Sovereignty"[24] was founded on 15 January 2007,[24] which lasted for nearly eleven months until it fell apart on 14 November 2007 due to in-fighting.[25]
In January 2008, leaders of far-right parties across four countries announced another attempt at a pan-European far-right European political party, provisionally called the "European Patriotic Party".[26][27] Should they be successful and elect sufficient MEPs under that banner, then another far-right Group may be formed.
| Group name |
English abbr. |
French abbr. |
Formal European Parliament name |
From | To |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| European Right | ER[28][18] | n/a | Group of the European Right[18][21][29] | 24 July 1984[29] | 24 July 1989[29] |
| European Right | DR[23] | n/a | Technical Group of the European Right[23][21][29] | 25 July 1989[29] | 18 July 1994[29] |
| Identity, Tradition, Sovereignty | ITS[24] | n/a | Identity, Tradition and Sovereignty Group[30] | 15 January 2007[24] | 14 November 2007[25] |
[edit] National Conservatives
Parties from certain European countries have been unwilling to join the centre right European People's Party group. These parties generally have a national conservative agenda. The first such Group was formed when the French Gaullists split from the Liberal Group on 21 January 1965[31] and created a new Group called the "European Democratic Union"[32][18] (not to be confused with the association of conservative and Christian-democratic parties founded in 1978 called the European Democrat Union nor the Conservative Group called the "European Democratic Group" founded in 1979). The Group was renamed on 16 January 1973[31] to the "Group of European Progressive Democrats"[33][34] when the Gaullists were joined by the Irish centrist Fianna Fáil and by regionalist social-democratic Scottish National Party, and renamed itself again on July 24, 1984[31] to the "Group of the European Democratic Alliance".[18][34] The European Democratic Alliance joined with MEPs from Forza Italia to became the "Group Union for Europe"[35][36] on July 6, 1995,[31] but it didn't last and the Forza Italia MEPs left on 15 June 1998 to join EPP,[31] leaving Union for Europe to struggle on until it split on July 20, 1999.[31] The RPR members joined EPP,[31] but Fianna Fáil and the Portuguese Democratic and Social Center / People's Party members joined a new group called "Union for Europe of the Nations Group".[37]
| Group name |
English abbr. |
French abbr. |
Formal European Parliament name |
From | To |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| European Democratic Union[32][18] | n/a | UDE[31] | European Democratic Union Group[34] | 21 January 1965[31] | 16 January 1973[31] |
| European Progressive Democrats[32][18] | EPD[38] | DEP[31] | Group of European Progressive Democrats[33][34] | 16 January 1973[31] | July 24, 1984[31] |
| European Democratic Alliance[28] | EDA[28][18] | RDE[31] | Group of the European Democratic Alliance[18][34][36] | July 24, 1984[31] | July 6, 1995[31] |
| Union for Europe | UFE[28] | UPE[31] | "Group Union for Europe"[35][36] | July 6, 1995[31] | July 20, 1999[31] |
| Union for Europe of the Nations | UEN[28][18] | n/a | Union for Europe of the Nations Group[37] | July 20, 1999[31][39] | present |
[edit] Conservatives/Christian Democrats
In European politics, the centre-right is usually occupied by Christian democrats or by conservatives. The two strands have had a tangled relationship in the Parliament. The first Christian Democrat Group was founded in 1953[32] and stayed with that name for a quarter of a century. Meanwhile outside the Parliament, local Christian-democratic parties were organising and eventually formed the pan-national political party called the "European People's Party" on April 29, 1976. Since all the Christian-democratic MEPs were members of this pan-European party, the Group's name was changed to indicate this: first to the "Christian-Democratic Group (Group of the European People's Party)"[20][40] on March 14, 1978,[20] then to "Group of the European People's Party (Christian Democrats)"[35][20][40] on July 17, 1979.[20] Meanwhile, on January 16, 1973,[19] the "European Conservative Group"[32] was formed by the British and Danish Conservative parties, which had recently joined the EEC. This group was renamed to the "European Democratic Group"[18][41] on July 17, 1979.[19] The EPP Group grew during the '80s, with parties such as the Greek New Democracy and Spanish Partido Popular that were not explicitly Christian Democratic joining the Group. In contrast, the number of MEPs in the European Democratic Group fell over the same period and it eventually merged with the EPP Group on 1 May 1992.[19] This consolidation of the centre-right continued during the '90s, with MEPs from the highly heterogeneous centre-right Italian Forza Italia eventually settling down into the EPP Group on 15 June 1998,[31] after spending nearly a year (19 July 1994[31] to July 6, 1995[31]) in their own Group, self-referentially called "Forza Europa", and nearly three years (July 6, 1995[31] to 15 June 1998[31]) in the national-conservative Group called "Union for Europe". But the Conservatives were growing restless and on July 20, 1999[32] the EPP Group was renamed[32] to the "Group of the European People's Party (Christian Democrats) and European Democrats"[42] in order to identify the Conservative parties within the Group. The Group remains under that name to this day. Although for the sake of brevity, it's usually called "People's" or "EPP-ED".
| Group name |
English abbr. |
French abbr. |
Formal European Parliament name |
From | To |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Christian Democratic Group | CD[32] | DC[20] | Christian Democratic Group[32][40] | June 23, 1953[20] | March 14, 1978[20] |
| Christian Democratic Group | CD[32] | DC[20] | Christian Democratic Group (Group of the European People's Party)[20][40] | March 14, 1978[20] | July 17, 1979[20] |
| European Conservatives | C[32] | n/a | European Conservative Group[32][41] | January 16, 1973[19] | July 17, 1979[19] |
| European Democrats | ED[28][32][18] | DE[19] | European Democratic Group[18][41] | July 17, 1979[19] | May 1, 1992[19] |
| European People's Party | EPP[28] | PPE[20] | Group of the European People's Party (Christian Democrats)[35][20][40] | July 17, 1979[20] | May 1, 1999[20] |
| Forza Europa | FE[28][18][43] | n/a | Forza Europa | 19 July 1994[31] | July 6, 1995[31] |
| European People's Party–European Democrats | EPP-ED[28] | PPE-DE[42] | Group of the European People's Party (Christian Democrats) and European Democrats[42][44] | July 20, 1999[32] | present |
[edit] Liberals/Centrists
In European politics, liberalism tends to be associated with classical liberalism, which advocates limited government intervention in society in general. However, the Liberal Group contains parties ranging from centre-right conservative liberalism to centre-left progressive liberalism. It has also been home to parties such as the Gaullist Union for the New Republic and the centre-right Portuguese Social-Democrats that were not explicitly liberal, but who were not aligned with either the Socialist or the Christian Democratic Groups. The Liberal Group was founded on June 23, 1953[45] under the name of the "Group of Liberals and Allies".[45] As the Parliament grew, it changed its name to the "Liberal and Democratic Group"[32][45] (1976[45]), then to the "Liberal and Democratic Reformist Group "[46] (December 13, 1985[45]), then to the "Group of the European Liberal, Democrat and Reform Party"[35][32][45] (July 19, 1994[45]) before settling on its present name of the "Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe"[45] on July 20, 2004,[45] when the Group was joined by the centrist and social-liberal parties that formed the European Democratic Party.
Between 1994 and 1999 there was a separate progressive-liberal "European Radical Alliance", which consisted out of MEPs of the progressive-liberal French Left Radical Party, the Italian left-libertarian Lista Bonino (of the Italian Radicals) and regionalists aligned with the European Free Alliance.[47]
| Group name |
English abbr. |
French abbr. |
Formal European Parliament name |
From | To |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal Group | L[45] | n/a | Group of Liberals and Allies[45] | June 23, 1953[45] | 1976[45] |
| Liberal and Democratic Group | LD[45] | n/a | Liberal and Democratic Group[32][45][48] | 1976[45] | December 13, 1985[45] |
| Liberal and Democratic Reformist Group | LDR[45][18] | n/a | Liberal and Democratic Reformist Group[46] | December 13, 1985[45] | July 19, 1994[45] |
| European Liberal Democratic and Reform Party | ELDR[28][45] | n/a | Group of the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party[35][32][45][49] | July 19, 1994[45] | July 20, 2004[45] |
| European Radical Alliance | ERA[28] | ARE[50] | Group of the European Radical Alliance[35][51] | 1994[18] | 1999[50] |
| Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe | ALDE[28] | ADLE[52] | Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe[45][53] | July 20, 2004[45] | present |
[edit] Social Democrats
In Western Europe, socialist/social democratic parties have been the dominant centre-left force since the dawn of modern European cooperation. The Socialist Group was one of the first Groups to be founded when it was created on 23 June 1953[54] in the European Parliament's predecessor, the Common Assembly of the European Coal and Steel Community, and continued through the creation of the appointed Parliament in 1958 and the elected Parliament in 1979. Meanwhile, the national parties making up the Group were also organising themselves on a European level outside the Parliament, with the parties creating the "Confederation of Socialist Parties of the European Community" in 1974[32][55][56] and its successor, the "Party of European Socialists", in 1992.[55][56] As a result, the Group (which had kept its "Socialist Group" name all along) was renamed to the "Group of the Party of European Socialists" on 21 April 1993[54] and it became difficult to distinguish between PES (the group) and PES (the party). The Group reverted to (approximately) its former name of the "Socialist Group in the European Parliament"[42] on 20 July 2004[54] and was given a different logo, making it easier to distinguish the Group from the party. Despite all this, the Group is still universally referred to as "PES".
| Group name |
English abbr. |
French abbr. |
Formal European Parliament name |
From | To |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Socialist Group | S[32] | n/a | Group of the Socialists[32] | 23 June 1953[54] | 1958[55] |
| Socialist Group | SOC[28] | n/a | Socialist Group[55][57] | 1958[55] | 21 April 1993[54] |
| Party of European Socialists | PES[28] | PSE[42] | "Group of the Party of European Socialists"[32][58] (until 20 July 2004)[54] "Socialist Group in the European Parliament"[42][59] (since 20 July 2004[54]) |
21 April 1993[54] | present |
[edit] Communists/Far-Left
The first Communist Group in the European Parliament was the "Communist and Allies Group"[18] founded on 16 October 1973.[60] It stayed together until 25 July 1989[60] when it split into two groups, the "Left Unity" Group[18] with 14[18] members and the "Group of the European United Left"[60] (EUL) with 28[18] members. EUL collapsed in January 1993[61] after the Italian Communist Party changed its name to Democratic Party of the Left and its MEPs joined the Socialist Group, leaving Left Unity as the only leftist group before the 1994 elections.[61] The name was resurrected immediately after the elections when the "Confederal Group of the European United Left"[60] was formed on 19 July 1994.[60] On 6 January 1995,[60] when parties from Sweden and Finland joined, the Group was further renamed to the "Confederal Group of the European United Left–Nordic Green Left" and it has stayed that way to the present.
| Group name |
English abbr. |
French abbr. |
Formal European Parliament name |
From | To |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Communists and Allies | COM[28] | n/a | Communist and Allies Group[18][62] | 16 October 1973[60] | 25 July 1989[60] |
| European United Left | EUL[28] | GUE[32][18] | Group for the European United Left[63] | 25 July 1989[60] | January 1993[61] |
| Left Unity | LU[28] | CG[18][60] | Left Unity[18][64] | 25 July 1989[60] | 19 July 1994[60] |
| European United Left | EUL[28] | GUE[32][18] | Confederal Group of the European United Left[60][65] | 19 July 1994[60] | 6 January 1995[60] |
| European United Left–Nordic Green Left | EUL/NGL[28] | GUE/NGL[42][32] | Confederal Group of the European United Left–Nordic Green Left[35][42][65] | 6 January 1995[60][65] | present |
[edit] Greens/Regionalists
In European politics, there has been a coalition between the Greens (who support green politics) and the stateless nationalists or regionalists (who also support devolution). In 1984[50] Greens and Regionalists gathered into the "Rainbow Group",[18] a coalition of Greens, regionalists and other parties of the left unaffiliated with any of the international organizations. In 1989[50][18] Rainbow split. The Greens went off to form the "Green Group", whilst the Regionalists stayed in Rainbow. Rainbow collapsed in 1994[50] and its members joined the "European Radical Alliance" under the centre-left French Left Radical Party. The Greens and Regionalists stayed separate until 1999,[32][50] when they reunited under the "Greens/European Free Alliance"[42][32] banner.
| Group name |
English abbr. |
French abbr. |
Formal European Parliament name |
From | To |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rainbow Group | RBW[28] | ARC[50] | Rainbow Group: Federation of the Green Alternative European Left, Agalev-Ecolo, the Danish People's Movement against Membership of the European Community and the European Free Alliance in the European Parliament[66][51] | 1984[50] | 1989[50][18] |
| Rainbow Group | RBW[28] | ARC[50] | Rainbow Group in the European Parliament[50][51] | 1989[50][18] | 1994[50] |
| Greens | G[28] | V[67] | The Green Group in the European Parliament[35][68] | 1989[32][18][50] | 1999[32][50] |
| Greens–European Free Alliance | G/EFA,[28] | Verts/ALE[42] | Group of the Greens–European Free Alliance[42][32][69] | 1999[32] | present |
[edit] Eurosceptics
The specifically European school of political thought that states that the competences of the European Union should be reduced or prevented from expanding further, is represented in the European Parliament by the eurosceptics. The first Eurosceptic group in the European Parliament was founded on July 19, 1994.[70] It was called the "European Nations Group"[70] and it lasted until November 10, 1996.[70] Its successor was the "Group of Independents for a Europe of Nations",[35][71] founded on December 20, 1996.[70] Following the 1999 election, the Group was reorganised into the "Group for a Europe of Democracies and Diversities"[42][32] on July 20, 1999,[70] and similarly reorganised after the 2004 election into the "Independence/Democracy Group"[72] on July 20, 2004.[70]
| Group name |
English abbr. |
French abbr. |
Formal European Parliament name |
From | To |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Europe of Nations | EN[28] | EDN[67] | Europe of Nations Group (Coordination Group)[73] | July 19, 1994[70][73] | November 10, 1996[70][73] |
| Independents for a Europe of Nations | I-EN[71] | I-EDN[70] | Group of Independents for a Europe of Nations[35][71][73] |