The European People's Party Group (EPP Group) is a centre-right political group of the European Parliament consisting of deputies (MEPs) from the member parties of the European People's Party (EPP). Sometimes it also includes independent MEPs and/or deputies from unaffiliated national parties.[16][17][18] The EPP Group comprises politicians of Christian-democratic, conservative and liberal-conservative orientation.[19][20][21]
| European People's Party Group | |
|---|---|
| European Parliament group | |
 | |
| Name | European People's Party Group |
| English abbr. | EPP Group (22 June 2009 – present) |
| French abbr. | PPE (22 June 2009 – present) |
| Formal name | Group of the European People's Party (Christian Democrats) (22 June 2009 – present) Older:
|
| Ideology | |
| Political position | Centre-right[12][13] |
| European parties | |
| From | |
| To | present |
| Chaired by | Manfred Weber[15] |
| MEP(s) | 177 / 705 |
| Website | www |
The European People's Party was officially founded as a European political party in 1976. However, the European People's Party Group in the European Parliament has existed in one form or another since June 1953, from the Common Assembly of the European Coal and Steel Community, making it one of the oldest European-level political groups. It has been the largest political group in the European Parliament since 1999.
History
The Common Assembly of the European Coal and Steel Community (the predecessor of the present day European Parliament) first met on 10 September 1952[22] and the first Christian Democratic Group was unofficially formed the next day, with Maan Sassen as president.[14][23] The group held 38 of the 78 seats, two short of an absolute majority.[14][24] On 16 June 1953, the Common Assembly passed a resolution[25] enabling the official formation of political groups; further, on 23 June 1953 the constituent declaration[26] of the group was published and the group was officially formed.[14][24]
The Christian Democrat group was the biggest group at formation, but as time wore on, it lost support and was the second-biggest group by the time of the 1979 elections. As the European Community expanded into the European Union, the dominant centre-right parties in the new member states were not necessarily Christian democratic, and the EPP (European People's Party, the pan-continental political party founded in 1976, to which all group members are now affiliated) feared being sidelined.[27] To counter this, the EPP expanded its remit to cover the centre-right regardless of tradition and pursued a policy of integrating liberal-conservative parties.[27]
This policy led to Greek New Democracy and Spanish People's Party MEPs joining the EPP Group.[27] The British Conservative Party and Danish Conservative People's Party tried to maintain a group of their own, named the European Democrats (ED), but lack of support and the problems inherent in maintaining a small group forced ED's collapse in the 1990s, and its members crossed the floor to join the EPP Group.[27] The parties of these MEPs also became full members of the EPP (with the exception of the British Conservative Party, which did not join) and this consolidation process of the European centre-right continued during the 1990s with the acquisition of members from the Italian party Forza Italia. However, the consolidation was not unalloyed and a split emerged with the Eurosceptic MEPs who congregated in a subgroup within the Group, also called the European Democrats (ED).
Nevertheless, the consolidation held through the 1990s, assisted by the group being renamed the European People's Party – European Democrats (EPP-ED) Group; after the 1999 European elections, the EPP-ED reclaimed its position as the largest group in the Parliament from the Party of European Socialists (PES) Group.
Size was not enough, however: the group did not have a majority. It continued therefore to engage in the Grand Coalition (a coalition with the PES Group, or occasionally the Liberals) to generate the majorities required by the cooperation procedure under the Single European Act.
Meanwhile, the parties in the European Democrats subgroup were growing restless, with the establishment in July 2006 of the Movement for European Reform,[28] and finally left following the 2009 elections, when the Czech Civic Democratic Party and British Conservative Party formed their own right-wing European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group on 22 June 2009, abolishing the European Democrats subgroup from that date. The EPP-ED Group reverted to its original name – the EPP Group – immediately.
In the 7th European Parliament, the EPP Group remained the largest parliamentary group with 275 MEPs. It is currently the only political group in the European parliament to fully represent its corresponding European political party, i.e. the European People's Party. The United Kingdom was the only member state to not be represented in the group; this state of affairs ceased temporarily on 28 February 2018, when two MEPs suspended from the British Conservative Party left the ECR Group and joined the EPP.[29][non-primary source needed] The two MEPs later joined a breakaway political party in the UK, The Independent Group.[30]
After twelve member parties in the EPP called for Hungary's Fidesz's expulsion or suspension, Fidesz's membership was suspended with a common agreement on 20 March 2019.[31][32] The suspension was applied only to the EPP but not to its group in the Parliament.[33] On 3 March 2021, Fidesz decided to leave the EPP group, after the group's new rules, however still kept their membership in the party.[34][35] On 18 March 2021, Fidesz decided to leave the European People's Party.[36]
In the 9th European Parliament, the EPP won 182 seats[37] out of a total of 751. They formed a coalition with Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats and Renew Europe to elect Ursula von der Leyen as president of the European Commission.[38]
Membership at formation
The 38 members in the group on 11 September 1952 were as follows:
Member state | MEPs | Party | MEPs | Notes | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belgium | 5 | Christian Social Party | 5 |
| [22][39] |
| France | 5 | Christian People's Party (Saar) | 2 |
| [22][39] |
| Republican People's Movement | 3 | [22][39] | |||
| Germany | 8 | Christian Democratic Union and Christian Social Union | 7 | [22][39] | |
| Federal Union Party | 1 | [22][39] | |||
| Italy | 12 | Christian Democracy | 12 |
| [22][39] |
| Luxembourg | 2 | Christian Social People's Party | 2 |
| [22][39] |
| Netherlands | 6 | Anti-Revolutionary Party | 2 |
| [22][39] |
| Catholic People's Party | 3 |
| [22][39] | ||
| Christian Historical Union | 1 |
| [22][39] |
Structure
Organisation
The EPP Group is governed by a collective (referred to as the Presidency) that allocates tasks. The Presidency consists of the Group Chair and a maximum of ten Vice-Chairs, including the Treasurer. The day-to-day running of the EPP Group is performed by its secretariat in the European Parliament, led by its Secretary-General. The Group runs its own think-tank, the European Ideas Network, which brings together opinion-formers from across Europe to discuss issues facing the European Union from a centre-right perspective.
The EPP Group Presidency includes:
| Name | Position | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| Manfred Weber | Chair | [40] |
| Arnaud Danjean | Vice-Chair | [41] |
| Frances Fitzgerald | Vice-Chair | [41] |
| Rasa Juknevičienė | Vice-Chair | [41] |
| Jeroen Lenaers | Vice-Chair | [41] |
| Vangelis Meimarakis | Vice-Chair | [41] |
| Dolors Montserrat | Vice-Chair | [41] |
| Siegfried Mureşan | Vice-Chair | [41] |
| Jan Olbrycht | Vice-Chair | [41] |
| Željana Zovko | Vice-Chair | [41] |
| Lídia Pereira | Vice-Chair | [42] |
The chairs of the group and its predecessors from 1952 to 2024 are as follows:
| Chair | Took office | Left office | Country (Constituency) | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maan Sassen | .jpg) | 1953 | 1958 |  Netherlands | .svg){kind=logo} Catholic People's Party |
| Pierre Wigny | ,_Minister_Justitie_en_Franse_Cultuur_P._Wigny_(CVP).jpg) | 1958 | 1958 |  Belgium |  Christian Social Party |
| Alain Poher |  | 1958 | 1966 |  France | Popular Republican Movement |
| Joseph Illerhaus | 1966 | 1969 |  West Germany |  Christian Democratic Union | |
| Hans Lücker | 1969 | 1975 | West Germany | Christian Democratic Union | |
| Alfred Bertrand | 1975 | 1977 | Belgium | .svg){kind=small} Christian People's Party | |
| Egon Klepsch |  | 1977 | 1982 | West Germany |  Christian Democratic Union |
| Paolo Barbi | 1982 | 1984 |  Italy | .svg){kind=logo} Christian Democracy | |
| Egon Klepsch | | 1984 | 1992 | West Germany / Germany | Christian Democratic Union |
| Leo Tindemans | _cropped.jpg) | 1992 | 1994 | Belgium (Dutch) | Christian People's Party |
| Wilfried Martens | _(cropped).jpg) | 1994 | 1999 | Belgium (Dutch) | Christian People's Party |
| Hans-Gert Pöttering |  | 1999 | 2007 | Germany | Christian Democratic Union |
| Joseph Daul |  | 2007 | 2014 | France (East) | Union for a Popular Movement |
| Manfred Weber | _Brexit_debate_-_Manfred_Weber_(EPP,_Germany)_(48753411591)_(cropped).jpg) | 2014 | present | Germany |  Christian Social Union |
Membership
9th European Parliament
| State | National party | European party | MEPs[43] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Austria | Austrian People's Party Österreichische Volkspartei (ÖVP) | EPP | 7 / 19 | |
| Belgium | Christian Democratic and Flemish Christen-Democratisch & Vlaams (CD&V) | EPP | 2 / 21 | |
| The Committed Ones Les Engagés (LE) | EPP | 1 / 21 | ||
| Christian Social Party Christlich Soziale Partei (CSP) | None | 1 / 21 | ||
 Bulgaria | Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria Граждани за европейско развитие на България (GERB) | EPP | 5 / 17 | |
| Union of Democratic Forces Съюз на демократичните сили (SDS) | EPP | 1 / 17 | ||
| Democrats for a Strong Bulgaria Демократи за силна България (DSB) | EPP | 1 / 17 | ||
 Croatia | Croatian Democratic Union Hrvatska demokratska zajednica (HDZ) | EPP | 4 / 12 | |
 Cyprus | Democratic Rally Δημοκρατικός Συναγερμός (DISY) | EPP | 2 / 6 | |
 Czech Republic | KDU-ČSL KDU–ČSL | EPP | 2 / 21 | |
| TOP 09 TOP 09 | EPP | 2 / 21 | ||
| Mayors and Independents Starostové a nezávislí (STAN) | None | 1 / 21 | ||
 Denmark | Conservative People's Party Konservative Folkeparti (KF) | EPP | 1 / 14 | |
 Estonia | Fatherland Isamaa | EPP | 1 / 7 | |
 Finland | National Coalition Party Kansallinen Kokoomus (KK) | EPP | 3 / 14 | |
| France | The Republicans Les Républicains (LR) | EPP | 7 / 79 | |
| The Centrists Les Centristes (LC) | None | 1 / 79 | ||
| Germany | Christian Democratic Union Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands (CDU) | EPP | 23 / 96 | |
| Christian Social Union in Bavaria Christlich-Soziale Union in Bayern e.V. (CSU) | EPP | 6 / 96 | ||
| Family Party of Germany Familienpartei Deutschlands (FAMILIE) | ECPM | 1 / 96 | ||
 Greece | New Democracy Νέα Δημοκρατία (ND) | EPP | 6 / 21 | |
 Hungary | Christian Democratic People's Party Kereszténydemokrata Néppárt (KDNP) | EPP | 1 / 21 | |
 Ireland | Fine Gael Fine Gael (FG) | EPP | 5 / 13 | |
| Italy | Forward Italy Forza Italia (FI) | EPP | 11 / 76 | |
| South Tyrolean People's Party Südtiroler Volkspartei (SVP) | EPP | 1 / 76 | ||
 Latvia | Unity Vienotība | EPP | 3 / 8 | |
 Lithuania | Homeland Union Tėvynės Sąjunga (TS-LKD) | EPP | 4 / 11 | |
 Luxembourg | Christian Social People's Party Chrëschtlech Sozial Vollekspartei (CSV) | EPP | 2 / 6 | |
 Malta | Nationalist Party Partit Nazzjonalista (PN) | EPP | 2 / 6 | |
| Netherlands | Christian Democratic Appeal Christen-Democratisch Appèl (CDA) | EPP | 5 / 29 | |
| Christian Union ChristenUnie (CU) | ECPM | 1 / 29 | ||
 Poland | Civic Platform Platforma Obywatelska (PO) | EPP | 11 / 52 | |
| Polish People's Party Polskie Stronnictwo Ludowe (PSL) | EPP | 3 / 52 | ||
| Independents Magdalena Adamowicz, Janina Ochojska | Independent | 2 / 52 | ||
 Portugal | Social Democratic Party Partido Social Democrata (PSD) | EPP | 6 / 21 | |
| Democratic and Social Centre – People's Party Centro Democrático e Social – Partido Popular (CDS–PP) | EPP | 1 / 21 | ||
 Romania | National Liberal Party Partidul Național Liberal (PNL) | EPP | 10 / 33 | |
| Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania Romániai Magyar Demokrata Szövetség (RMDSZ) Uniunea Democrată Maghiară din România (UDMR) | EPP | 2 / 33 | ||
| People's Movement Party Partidul Mișcarea Populară (PMP) | EPP | 2 / 33 | ||
 Slovakia | Christian Democratic Movement Kresťanskodemokratické Hnutie (KDH) | EPP | 2 / 14 | |
| Democrats Demokrati (D) | EPP | 1 / 14 | ||
| Slovakia Slovensko | EPP | 1 / 14 | ||
 Slovenia | Slovenian Democratic Party Slovenska Demokratska Stranka (SDS) | EPP | 2 / 8 | |
| New Slovenia – Christian Democrats Nova Slovenija – Krščanski demokrati (NSi) | EPP | 1 / 8 | ||
| Slovenian People's Party Slovenska ljudska stranka (SLS) | EPP | 1 / 8 | ||
 Spain | People's Party Partido Popular (PP) | EPP | 13 / 59 | |
 Sweden | Moderate Party Moderata Samlingspartiet (M) | EPP | 4 / 21 | |
| Christian Democrats Kristdemokraterna (KD) | EPP | 1 / 21 | ||
| Folklistan Folklistan | None | 1 / 21 | ||
 European Union | Total | 177 / 705 | ||
Former members
| Country | Party | European party | MEPs | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hungary | Fidesz | None | 12 / 21 | |
| Netherlands | 50PLUS (50+) | None | 0 / 29 | |
7th and 8th European Parliament
| Country | Names | Names (English) | MEPs 2009–14 | MEPs 2014–19 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Austria | Österreichische Volkspartei | Austrian People's Party | 6 |  5 |
| Belgium | Dutch: Christen-Democratisch & Vlaams | Christian Democratic and Flemish | 3 | 2 |
| French: Centre Démocrate Humaniste | Humanist Democratic Centre | 1 |  1 | |
| German: Christlich Soziale Partei | Christian Social Party | 1 | 1 | |
| Bulgaria | Граждани за европейско развитие на България (Grazhdani za Evropeysko Razvitie na Balgariya) | Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria | 5 |  6 |
| Съюз на демократичните сили (Sayuz na Demokratichnite Sili) | Union of Democratic Forces | 1 | 0 | |
| Демократи за силна България (Demokrati za Silna Balgariya) | Democrats for a Strong Bulgaria | 1 | 1 | |
| Croatia | Hrvatska demokratska zajednica | Croatian Democratic Union | 4 | 4 |
| Hrvatska seljačka stranka | Croatian Peasant Party | 1 | 1 | |
| Cyprus | Greek: Δημοκρατικός Συναγερμός (Dimokratikós Sinayermós) | Democratic Rally | 2 | 1 |
| Czech Republic | Křesťanská a demokratická unie – Československá strana lidová | Christian and Democratic Union – Czechoslovak People's Party | 2 | 3 |
| TOP 09 | TOP 09 | — | 3 | |
| Starostové a nezávislí | Mayors and Independents[44] | — | 1 | |
| Denmark | Det Konservative Folkeparti | Conservative People's Party | 1 | 1 |
| Estonia | Erakond Isamaa | Pro Patria | 1 | 1 |
| Finland | Kansallinen Kokoomus | National Coalition Party | 3 | 3 |
| Suomen kristillisdemokraatit | Christian Democrats | 1 | 0 | |
| France | Les Républicains | The Republicans | 27 | 18 |
| Union des Démocrates et Indépendants | Union of Democrats and Independents | 6 | 0 | |
| — | Independent | — | 2 | |
| Germany | Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands | Christian Democratic Union | 34 | 29 |
| Christlich-Soziale Union in Bayern e.V. | Christian Social Union of Bavaria | 8 | 5 | |
| Greece | Νέα Δημοκρατία (Néa Dimokratiá) | New Democracy | 7 | 5 |
| Hungary | Kereszténydemokrata Néppárt | Christian Democratic People's Party | 1 | 1 |
| Ireland | Fine Gael | Fine Gael | 4 | 4 |
| Italy | Forza Italia | Forza Italia | 19 | 12 |
| Alternativa Popolare | Popular Alternative | — | 1 | |
| Unione di Centro | Union of the Centre | 6 | 1 | |
| German: Südtiroler Volkspartei | South Tyrolean People's Party | 1 | 1 | |
| Latvia | Vienotība | Unity | 4 | 4 |
| Lithuania | Tėvynės Sąjunga – Lietuvos Krikščionys Demokratai | Homeland Union – Lithuanian Christian Democrats | 4 | 2 |
| — | Independent | — | 1 | |
| Luxembourg | Luxembourgish: Chrëschtlech Sozial Vollekspartei French: Parti Populaire Chrétien Social German: Christlich Soziale Volkspartei | Christian Social People's Party | 3 | 3 |
| Malta | Partit Nazzjonalista | Nationalist Party | 2 | 3 |
| Netherlands | Christen-Democratisch Appèl | Christian Democratic Appeal | 5 | 5 |
| Poland | Platforma Obywatelska | Civic Platform | 25 | 18 |
| Polskie Stronnictwo Ludowe | Polish People's Party | 4 | 4 | |
| Portugal | Partido Social Democrata | Social Democratic Party | 8 | 6 |
| Centro Democrático e Social – Partido Popular | Democratic and Social Centre – People's Party | 2 | 1 | |
| Romania | Partidul Național Liberal | National Liberal Party | 12 | 8 |
| Hungarian: Romániai Magyar Demokrata Szövetség Romanian: Uniunea Democrată Maghiară din România | Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania | 3 | 2 | |
| Partidul Mișcarea Populară | People's Movement Party | — | — | |
| — | Independent | — | 2 | |
| Slovakia | Kresťanskodemokratické Hnutie | Christian Democratic Movement | 2 | 3 |
| Strana Maďarskej Koalície – Magyar Koalício Pártja | Party of the Hungarian Community | 2 | 1 | |
| Most–Híd | Most–Híd | — | 1 | |
| — | Independent | — | 1 | |
| Slovenia | Slovenska Demokratska Stranka | Slovenian Democratic Party | 3 | 3 |
| Nova Slovenija – Krščanska Ljudska Stranka | New Slovenia – Christian People's Party | 1 | 1 | |
| Slovenska ljudska stranka | Slovenian People's Party | — | 1 | |
| Spain | Spanish: Partido Popular | People's Party | 24 | 16 |
| — | Independent | — | 1 | |
| Sweden | Moderata Samlingspartiet | Moderate Party | 4 | 3 |
| Kristdemokraterna | Christian Democrats | 1 | 1 | |
 United Kingdom | Change UK | Change UK (defection from Conservative Party/ECR)[45] | 0 | 1 |
| — | Renew Party (defection from Conservative Party/ECR)[46] | 0 | 1 | |
| Total | 274 | 219 | ||
Activities
In the news
Activities performed by the group in the period between June 2004 and June 2008 include monitoring elections in Palestine[47] and Ukraine;[48] encouraging transeuropean rail travel,[49] telecoms deregulation,[50] energy security,[51] a common energy policy,[52] the accession of Bulgaria and Romania to the Union,[53] partial reform of the CAP[54] and attempts to tackle illegal immigration;[55][56][57] denouncing Russian involvement in South Ossetia;[58][59][60][61][62] supporting the Constitution Treaty[63][64][65] and the Lisbon Treaty;[66][67] debating globalisation,[52][68] relations with China,[69] and Taiwan;[70] backing plans to outlaw Holocaust denial;[71] nominating Anna Politkovskaya for the 2007 Sakharov Prize;[72] expelling Daniel Hannan from the Group;[73] the discussion about whether ED MEPs should remain within EPP-ED or form a group of their own;[74][75][76] criticisms of the group's approach to tackling low turnout for the 2009 elections;[77] the group's use of the two-President arrangement;[78] and the group's proposal to ban the Islamic Burka dress across the EU.
Parliamentary activity profile
The debates and votes in the European Parliament are tracked by its website[79] and categorised by the groups that participate in them and the rule of procedure that they fall into. The results give a profile for each group by category and the total indicates the group's level of participation in Parliamentary debates. The activity profile for each group for the period 1 August 2004 to 1 August 2008 in the Sixth Parliament is given on the diagram on the right. The group is denoted in blue.
The website shows the group as participating in 659 motions, making it the third most active group during the period.[citation needed]
Publications
The group produces many publications, which can be found on its website.[80] Documents produced in 2008 cover subjects such as dialogue with the Orthodox Church, study days, its strategy for 2008–09, Euro-Mediterranean relations, and the Lisbon Treaty. It also publishes a yearbook and irregularly publishes a presentation, a two-page summary of the group.
Academic analysis
The group has been characterised as a three-quarters-male group that, prior to ED's departure, was only 80% cohesive and split between centre-right Europhiles (the larger EPP subgroup) and right-wing Eurosceptics (the smaller ED subgroup). The group as a whole is described as ambiguous on hypothetical EU taxes, against taxation, environmental issues, social issues (LGBT rights, abortion, euthanasia) and full Turkish accession to the European Union, and for a deeper Federal Europe, deregulation, the Common Foreign and Security Policy and controlling migration into the EU.[citation needed]
