By Bruno Waterfield - 30th June 2004
Europe’s Liberals are to back a new pro-EU centrist “third force” in the European Parliament.
Senior MEPs in the ‘Party of European Liberal Democrats and Reformers’ (ELDR) are calling on colleagues to back the move at a July 13 meeting.
Architect of the new coalition and current ELDR leader Graham Watson hailed “an historic moment in the history of the European Parliament”.
“A new group on this scale and these terms would be the largest third force in European Parliament history,” he said.
“I was mandated by the MEPs of the ELDR Group to seek an alliance that would unite the forces in the centre of the European political spectrum.”
Liberals will join forces with centre-right and centre-left MEPs from the French UDF and the Italian Olive Tree coalition, led by current Brussels chief Romano Prodi.
“This new group, which may attract other MEPs, would number at least 80 MEPs… the new group [will] be called the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe,” aid an ELDR statement.
The alliance is expected to boost the parliament’s third largest political bloc from 67 MEPs altering the balance of the EU’s new assembly.
Following gains for eurosceptics in recent European elections, and the formation of a new anti-EU group, the new alliance will form a pro-European centre.
“The new group [will] adopt a programmatic basis for its work in the next European Parliament. It will be a distinctively pro-European platform, which will be launched early next week,” said the statement.
Watson argues the ALDE will “change the alignment of European politics back towards the liberal and democratic traditions of the political centre”.
“Not only does this have the potential to put the politics back in Brussels, but it will provide a powerful show of commitment to advancing the work of a closer, stronger EU,” he said.
The new group will now play a key role in the balance between political blocs in the parliament and may lure other pro-EU MEPs.
With roughly 11 per cent of MEPs ALDE will be seeking a brokering role with the biggest centre-right EPP, 38 per cent, and second ranking Socialists on 27 per cent, in key parliament votes.
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