By Martin Banks - 29th April 2009
We are very confident a new group will be formed
Tory party source
UK Tory leader David Cameron has confirmed the party will leave the EPP group after June's European elections.
Confirmation of the recently-announced move came in a letter to EPP group leader Joseph Daul.
A Tory source said it stated the party, which currently has 27 MEPs, will remain within the group until the election but will then formally sever its links with the EPP.
He said a new grouping is expected to be launched on 14 July, the day parliament reconvenes after the elections.
Negotiations with other political parties about forming a new group were "proceeding", he said, adding, "We are very confident a new group will be formed."
Some have cast doubt on the Tories' chances of finding enough suitable allies, with some even suggesting the party may eventually return to the EPP fold.
The decision to leave parliament's biggest group has also been condemned in some quarters, with UK Socialist MEP Gary Titley, claiming it will leave both the Tories and the UK adrift from Europe.
MEP Geoffrey van Orden has been leading the hunt for new allies, together with group leader Tim Kirkhope and William Hague, shadow foreign minister.
Nine Tories are standing down at the election with six retiring and three leaving to stand in the next parliamentary elections in the UK.
They are Chris Heaton-Harris, Jonathan Evans and Neil Parish, current chairman of parliament's agriculture committee.
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