By Martin Banks - 2nd February 2009
There are some question marks over its eligibility for status as a pan-European political party
Diana Wallis
This legislation exists to ensure that only bona fide political organisations can organise at European level. It appears to me that Libertas is a flimsy group which was set up on the back of an envelope
Richard Corbett
Libertas, the anti-Lisbon treaty group, has been accused of "pre-empting" a meeting of parliament's bureau where its application for EU funds will be discussed.
The attack comes after Libertas issued a press release on Monday saying it welcomed parliament's "upcoming decision" to recognise it as a European political party.
It states that Libertas founder Declan Ganley "called the parliament 'decision' another step forward for Libertas.eu's 2009 European election campaign."
The group's application for European political party status is due to be discussed at a meeting of parliament's bureau in Strasbourg. The body comprises its president, Hans-Gert Pöttering, 14 vice presidents and six questors.
However, bureau member UK ALDE deputy Diana Wallis stressed that "no decision" had yet been taken on whether or not Libertas meets the necessary criteria.
She told theparliament.com, "It may be that, ultimately, Libertas does meet the criteria but at this stage there appear to be some question marks over its eligibility for status as a pan-European political party.
"There is, specifically, a question mark over how many nationalities are in its governing body and also about the group’s structure."
Wallis added, "Its application is due to be discussed at tonight's bureau meeting along with those from other political parties But in issuing this press release, I have to say that Libertas appears to be pre-empting a decision which, clearly, is yet to be taken."
Her comments were partly echoed by UK Socialist MEP Richard Corbett, a constitutional expert, who said, "I would be surprised if Libertas qualifies for group status because the legislation states that a group must have elected representatives from a quarter, or seven, of the EU's 27 member states.
"This legislation exists to ensure that only bona fide political organisations can organise at European level. It appears to me that Libertas is a flimsy group which was set up on the back of an envelope.
"It may meet the formal criteria by signing maverick politicians but whether it meets the spirit of the legislation is debatable."
According to the Libertas press release, the group's application is endorsed by elected representatives from eight EU countries.
It says it has the support of British peer Lord Alton, three MEPs - Philippe de Villiers and Paul-Marie Couteaux, both French members, and Greek deputy Georgios Georgiou - Timo Soini, Igor Grazin and Hristov Kuminev, MPs in Finland, Estonia and Bulgaria respectively, and Cyprian Gutkowski, a regional assembly member in Poland.
If the group's application is endorsed tonight it means Libertas will qualify for EU funding which, according to its spokeswoman Anita Kelly, would amount to between €100,000 and €150,000.
"We have no intention of using this money because we will rely on funds for our campaigning from private donations. We are simply seeking recognition as a political party," she said.
Kelly said the group, which successfully campaigned against the treaty in last year's Irish referendum, still hoped to field candidates in "every constituency in every member state" in June's elections.
A parliament spokesman said that, according to regulations, EU funding can be used by pan-political parties, like the Party of European Socialists and the ELDR for "campaign activities" in the upcoming European elections.
Parliamentary groups like the EPP, PES and ALDE, which receive more than their political party counterparts, are not allowed to use EU funds on the campaign.
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