European Conservatives and Reformists Party

The European Conservatives and Reformists Party (ECR Party), formerly known as Alliance of European Conservatives and Reformists (AECR) (2009–2016) and Alliance of Conservatives and Reformists in Europe (ACRE) (2016–2019), is a conservative, soft Eurosceptic[16] European political party with a main focus on reforming the European Union (EU) on the basis of Eurorealism,[17] as opposed to total rejection of the EU (anti-EU-ism).[18][19]

This article is about the European political party. For the group in the European Parliament, see European Conservatives and Reformists.

European Conservatives and Reformists Party
PresidentGiorgia Meloni
Vice PresidentsJorge Buxadé
Radosław Fogiel
Secretary-GeneralAntonio Giordano
Founded1 October 2009 (2009-10-01)
Split fromEuropean People's Party
Union for Europe of the Nations
Preceded byMovement for European Reform[1]
HeadquartersRue du Trône 4, 1000 Brussels, Belgium[2]
Think tankNew Direction
Youth wingEuropean Young Conservatives
Ideology
Political positionRight-wing[A][10][11][12]
International affiliationInternational Democrat Union
European Parliament groupEuropean Conservatives and Reformists
Colours  Blue
European Parliament
56 / 705
European Council
3 / 27
European Commission
1 / 27
European Lower Houses
1,015 / 9,874
European Upper Houses
324 / 2,714
Website
ecrparty.eu
^ A: The party also has centre-right and far-right factions.[13][14][15]

The political movement was founded on 1 October 2009,[20] after the creation of the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) political group of the European Parliament. It was officially recognised by the European Parliament in January 2010.

ECR Party is governed by a board of directors who are elected by the Council, which represents all ECR member parties.[21] The executive board is composed of the President Giorgia Meloni (Prime Minister of Italy), Vicepresident Jorge Buxadé (Spanish Member of the European Parliament), and Vicepresident Radosław Fogiel (Polish member of the Parliament).[22][23]

The party is affiliated with the European Conservatives and Reformists Group in the European Parliament, the pan-European think tank New Direction – The Foundation for European Reform, and the youth organisation the European Young Conservatives. It is also formally associated with the European Conservatives and Reformists Group in the Committee of the Regions, in the Congress of the Council of Europe, and in the NATO Parliamentary Assembly.[24] In the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the ECR Party forms the European Conservatives Group and Democratic Alliance with the Identity and Democracy Party.

History

Foundation

The European Conservatives and Reformists Party was founded as the Alliance of European Conservatives and Reformists on 1 October 2009,[25] after the ECR political group was founded in the wake of the 2009 European Parliament election, and was officially recognised by the European Parliament in January 2010. Amongst ACRE's eight founding members the largest were the UK Conservative Party, the Polish PiS and the Czech ODS.

ECR Party was formally constituted under the chairmanship of Belgian MEP Derk Jan Eppink, who was succeeded by Czech MEP Jan Zahradil. ACRE's first congress took place in Warsaw on 8 June 2010, attended by its founding members, including UK Conservative Party Chairman and Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek. On 25 March 2011, the Civic Conservative Party from Slovakia joined; Iceland's Independence Party in November 2011 (the party's first member from outside the European Union); Georgia's Christian-Democratic Movement in August 2012; Italy's Conservatives and Social Reformers in October 2012; the Conservative Party of Canada became the ACRE's first associate member (later renamed 'regional partners') in November 2012; Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party in November 2013; and the Faroe Islands' People's Party, and Romania's New Republic; and in July 2014, Prosperous Armenia.[26] The Conservative Party of Georgia and New Majority joined on 1 November 2014. At the same time, the ACRE formally affiliated to the European Conservatives Group in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.[27] In November 2015, the Conservatives and Reformists of Italy were admitted as ECR Party members,[28] followed by the Alliance for Progress and Renewal (ALFA) of Germany and M10 party of Romania in March 2016.[29] The Liberal Party of Australia, Istiqlal Party of Morocco, National Party of New Zealand, and Republican Party of the United States joined as further regional partners in 2014, followed by Afek Tounes and Likud Movement in 2015 and 2016.

The Alliance of European Conservatives and Reformists officially changed its name to the Alliance of Conservatives and Reformists in Europe (ACRE) on 6 October 2016.[30]

In December 2018, ACRE was ordered to repay more than half a million euros of EU funds, following an investigation into their spending. This included €250,000 for a three-day conference in Miami and €90,000 for a trade meeting in Kampala. ACRE had previously been asked to return €121,000 given to the Prosperous Armenia party.[31]

More recently the ECR has seen a shift further towards the conservative right with the acceptance of the Brothers of Italy, Forum for Democracy, Vox and Sweden Democrats as members in 2019.[32][33] In April 2023 Finns Party joined as most recent member of the ECR's European Parliament group.[34]

Leadership

The ECR Party has had two Presidents:

No.ImageNameTenurePartyMember state
1
Debate of lead candidates for the European Commission presidency (32917075397).jpg
 Jan Zahradil
(born 1963)		 2009–2020 Civic Democratic Party  Czech Republic
2 Giorgia Meloni
(born 1977)		 2020– Brothers of Italy  Italy

Members

Member parties
Country Party name Abbr. Legislature lower house seats Legislature upper house Seats Status
 Bulgaria IMRO – Bulgarian National Movement
ВМРО – Българско Национално Движение
VMRO – Balgarsko Natsionalno Dvizhenie		 VMRO
0 / 240
 Extra-parliamentary
 Croatia Croatian Sovereignists
Hrvatski suverenisti		 HS
4 / 151
 Opposition
 Czech Republic Civic Democratic Party
Občanská demokratická strana		 ODS
34 / 200
23 / 81
 Government
 Germany Liberal Conservative Reformers
Liberal-Konservative Reformer		 LKR
0 / 735
0 / 69
 Extra-parliamentary
 Italy Brothers of Italy
Fratelli d'Italia		 FdI
118 / 400
66 / 200
 Government
 Latvia National Alliance
Nacionālā apvienība		 NA
13 / 100
 Opposition
 Lithuania Electoral Action of Poles in Lithuania – Christian Families Alliance
Lietuvos lenkų rinkimų akcija – Krikščioniškų šeimų sąjunga		 LLRA–KŠS
3 / 141
 Opposition
 Luxembourg Alternative Democratic Reform Party
Alternativ Demokratesch Reformpartei
Parti réformiste d'alternative démocratique
Alternative Demokratische Reformpartei		 ADR
4 / 60
 Opposition
 Poland Law and Justice
Prawo i Sprawiedliwość		 PiS
198 / 460
44 / 100
 Government
 Romania The Right Alternative
Alternativa Dreaptă		 AD
3 / 330
1 / 136
 Opposition
 Slovakia Freedom and Solidarity
Sloboda a Solidarita		 SaS
19 / 150
 Opposition
 Spain Vox
Vox		 Vox
33 / 350
3 / 265
 Opposition
 Sweden Sweden Democrats
Sverigedemokraterna		 SD
73 / 349
 Confidence and supply

Global partners
Country Political party Party Leader(s) National Lower Houses Government
 Albania Republican Party of Albania
(PR)		 Fatmir Mediu
3 / 140
 Opposition
 Belarus BPF Party Vadzim Sarančukoŭ
0 / 110
 Opposition
 Israel Likud
(מחל) הליכוד		 Benjamin Netanyahu
32 / 120
 Government
 North Macedonia VMRO – People's Party
(VMRO–NP)		 Ljubčo Georgievski
1 / 120
 Opposition
 Serbia Enough is Enough
(DJB)		 Saša Radulović
0 / 250
 Opposition
 United States Republican Party
(GOP, R)		 Ronna McDaniel
222 / 435
 Opposition
(majority in House of Representatives)
 United Kingdom Ulster Unionist Party
(UUP)		 Doug Beattie
0 / 18
(House of Commons
(NI Seats))		 Opposition
9 / 90
(Northern Ireland Assembly)		 Government

Former member parties
ECR Party member parties in 2019. Composed of members from 29 European nations (shown in dark blue) and regional partners from 10 non-European nations (shown in light blue).

Former regional partners


Elected representatives of member parties

European institutions
Organisation Institution Number of seats
 European Union European Commission
1 / 27
European Council
(Heads of Government)
3 / 27
Council of the EU
(Participation in Government)
4 / 27
European Parliament
61 / 705
 Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly
22 / 321

ECR affiliate groupings

The ACRE is formally affiliated to groupings in the European Parliament and the Committee of the Regions of the European Union, the Congress of the Council of Europe and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and the NATO Parliamentary Assembly.

European Parliament
Main article: European Conservatives and Reformists

The ECR group is the sixth-largest group in the European Parliament. Founded in 2009, the ECR brings together 64 MEPs from 15 countries.[35] The ECR currently is led by two co-chairmen, Ryszard Legutko of the Polish Law and Justice party and Nicola Procaccini of the Brothers of Italy party.[36]

Committee of the Regions

Following the creation of the ECR Group in the European Parliament in 2009, and the creation of the ACRE in 2010, the ECR Group in the Committee of the Regions was formed on 10 April 2013 under the leadership of Gordon Keymer CBE and with the support of the ACRE. The Group was officially announced during the 11–12 April 100th Committee of the Regions plenary session.

The ECR Group was the first Group to be formed in the Committee of the Regions during the course of a mandate and was the first ECR Group to be formed outside of the European Parliament.

The President of the Group is Cllr. Gordon Keymer CBE (Leader of Tandridge District Council) and the Vice-Presidents are Dan Jiránek (Mayor of Kladno) and Daiva Matonienė (Deputy Mayor of Šiauliai City Council). Adam Banaszak (Member of the Kujawsko-Pomorskie regional assembly), Cllr. Kay Twitchen OBE (Member of Essex County Council) and Cllr. Judith Pearce (Deputy Leader of Wychavon District Council and Executive board member for Planning, Infrastructure and Housing).

Country Party name Members Other affiliations
Full Affiliate Europarty EU Parliament International
 Czech Republic Civic Democratic Party 3 1 ACRE ECR IDU
 Denmark Danish People's Party 0 2 MELD ECR None
 Finland Finns Party 1 1 ACRE ECR None
 Lithuania Independent 1 3 None None None
 Netherlands Christian Union 1 1 ECPM ECR None
 Poland Law and Justice 1 4 ACRE ECR None
 Slovakia Independent politician 1 0 None None None
 United Kingdom Conservative Party 7 8 ACRE None IDU
 United Kingdom Ulster Unionist Party 0 1 ACRE None IDU

Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
Main article: European Conservatives Group

The European Conservatives Group in the European Parliament, founded in 1970 and existing for most of its history as the 'European Democrat Group' became officially affiliated to the ACRE on 29 September 2014. The EC group is led by Samad Seyidov MP, of the New Azerbaijan Party.

As of 23 October 2014, the European Conservatives have the following members:[37]

Country Party name Members Other affiliations
Europarty EU Parliament International
 Armenia Prosperous Armenia 2 ACRE N/A None
 Armenia Republican Party of Armenia [A] 1 None N/A None
 Azerbaijan New Azerbaijan Party 4 None N/A None
 Azerbaijan Independent 1 None N/A None
 Czech Republic Civic Democratic Party 2 ACRE ECR IDU
 Denmark Danish People's Party 1 None ECR None
 Greece Independent Greeks 1 None ECR None
 Norway Progress Party 2 None N/A None
 Poland Law and Justice 7 ECRP ECR None
 Poland United Poland 1 MELD No MEPs None
 Turkey Justice and Development Party [B] 13 ACRE N/A None
 Turkey Nationalist Movement Party[C] 1 None N/A None
 Ukraine Party of Regions [D] 4 None N/A None
 Ukraine Sovereign European Ukraine 1 None N/A None
 Ukraine Independent 1 None N/A None
 United Kingdom Conservative Party 17 ACRE N/A IDU
 United Kingdom Democratic Unionist Party 1 None N/A None
^A One of the three members of the Republican Party of Armenia sit with the EC Group. The other two members sit with the European People's Party.
^B Eleven of the thirteen members of the Justice and Development Party sit with the EC Group. One sits with the European People's Party and one sits with the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe.
^C One of the two members of the Nationalist Movement Party sits with the EC Group. The other member sits with the Socialist Group.
^D Four of the seven members of Party of Regions sit with the EC Group. Two sit with the Socialist Group and one sits with the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe.

Congress of the Council of Europe

The ECR group in the Congress of the Council of Europe brings together representatives in local government from across Europe. It has 31 members, 26 of whom represent parties in the ECRP.

Country Party name Members Other affiliations
Europarty EU Parliament International
 Armenia Prosperous Armenia 1 ACRE N/A None
 Czech Republic Civic Democratic Party 3 ACRE ECR IDU
 Czech Republic Independent 2 None N/A None
 Denmark Danish People's Party 1 None ECR None
 Norway Progress Party 2 None N/A None
 Poland Law and Justice 1 ACRE ECR None
 Poland Independent 1 None N/A None
 Turkey Nationalist Movement Party 5 None N/A None
 Ukraine People's Party 1 None N/A None
 United Kingdom Conservative Party 11 ACRE ECR IDU
 United Kingdom Ulster Unionist Party 1 ACRE ECR None

Youth organisation

European Young Conservatives
Main article: European Young Conservatives

The European Young Conservatives (EYC) is ECR Party's youth wing. It brings together conservative and political parties from across Europe. As of 2020, the group has a membership of 30 political youth organisations from 30 countries and territories. Its patron was Margaret Thatcher until her death in 2013.

Country Organisation Mother party
 Armenia Prosperous Armenia Youth Prosperous Armenia
 Belarus BPF Youth BPF Party
 Belgium Jong N-VA N-VA
 Czech Republic Young Conservatives Civic Democratic Party
 Denmark Young Conservatives Conservative People's Party
 Faroe Islands Huxa People's Party
 Finland Finns Party Youth Finns Party
 Georgia Young Conservatives Conservative Party of Georgia
 Italy Youth for Freedom Forza Italia
 Latvia For Fatherland and Freedom/LNNK Youth Club For Fatherland and Freedom/LNNK
 Liechtenstein Junge FBP Progressive Citizens' Party
 Lithuania Electoral Action of Poles in Lithuania Youth Organisation Electoral Action of Poles in Lithuania
 Luxembourg ADRenalin Alternative Democratic Reform Party
 Netherlands Youth Forum for Democracy Forum for Democracy
 Norway Progress Party's Youth Progress Party
 Poland Law and Justice Youth Forum Law and Justice
 Portugal People's Youth Democratic and Social Centre – People's Party
 Romania New Republic Youth New Republic
  Switzerland Young SVP Swiss People's Party
 Turkey AKP Youth Justice and Development Party
 United Kingdom Young Conservatives (UK) Conservative Party
 United Kingdom Young Unionists Ulster Unionist Party

Principles

ECRP adopted the Reykjavík Declaration at its Council Meeting on 21 March 2014. The declaration defines the principles that underpin ECR.[38]

The Reykjavík Declaration

  • The European Conservatives and Reformists Party brings together parties committed to individual liberty, national sovereignty, parliamentary democracy, the rule of law, private property, low taxes, sound money, free trade, open competition, and the devolution of power.
  • ECRP believes in a Europe of independent nations, working together for mutual gain while each retaining its identity and integrity.
  • ECRP is committed to the equality of all European democracies, whatever their size, and regardless of which international associations they join.
  • ECRP favors the exercise of power at the lowest practicable level—by the individual where possible, by local or national authorities in preference to supranational bodies.
  • ECRP understands that open societies rest upon the dignity and autonomy of the individual, who should be as free as possible from state coercion. The liberty of the individual includes freedom of religion and worship, freedom of speech and expression, freedom of movement and association, freedom of contract and employment, and freedom from oppressive, arbitrary or punitive taxation.
  • ECRP recognizes the equality of all citizens before the law, regardless of ethnicity, sex or social class. It rejects all forms of extremism, authoritarianism and racism.
  • ECRP cherishes the important role of civil associations, families and other bodies that fill the space between the individual and the government.
  • ECRP acknowledges the unique democratic legitimacy of the nation-state.
  • ECRP is committed to the spread of free commerce and open competition, in Europe and globally.
  • ECRP supports the principles of the Prague Declaration of March 2009 and the work of the European Conservatives and Reformists in the European Parliament and allied groups on the other European assemblies.

See also

 Conservatism portal

Notes

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