Group of the European People's Party (Christian Democrats)
Group of the European People's Party (Christian Democrats) | |
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Official abbreviation | EPP (English), PPE (French) |
Members |
187/705 |
Group leader |
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founding | 1953 |
history |
1953–1978 Christian Democratic Group 1978–1979 Christian Democratic Group (Group of the European People's Party) 1979–1999 Group of the European People's Party (Christian Democrats) 1999–2009 Group of the European People's Party (Christian Democrats) and European Democrats since 2009 Group of the European People's Party (Christian Democrats) |
Alignment | Christian democracy , conservatism |
European party | European People's Party |
Website | www.eppgroup.eu/de |
The Group of the European People's Party (Christian Democrats) in the European Parliament mainly consists of members of the European People's Party (EPP), a Christian Democratic-Conservative European party . With 187 members from 26 countries, it is the largest group in the European Parliament (as of February 1, 2020).
The EPP Group in the European Parliament existed - initially under the name Christian Democratic Group since the Parliament was founded in 1952. From 1992 until the European elections in 2009 , it also included the members of the European Democrats , a conservative party alliance; the group was therefore called the Group of the European People's Party (Christian Democrats) and European Democrats from 1999 to 2009 . In 2009, however, the member parties of the European Democrats, together with other parties, founded the new European Conservatives and Reformers Group , so that the EPP again formed a single political group. However, there are still some members in the group who do not belong to any European party at European level, including not belonging to the EPP.
In addition to the European Parliament, political groups in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and the European Committee of the Regions also bear this name.
Members of the group
history
EPP | |
---|---|
1979 |
108/410 |
1984 |
117/434 |
1984 |
110/434 |
1989 |
113/518 |
1989 |
121/518 |
1994 |
162/518 |
1994 |
156/567 |
1999 |
201/626 |
EPP-ED | |
1999 |
233/626 |
2004 |
295/788 |
2004 |
268/732 |
2009 |
288/785 |
EPP | |
2009 |
256/736 |
2014 |
274/766 |
2014 |
221/751 |
2019 |
216/751 |
2019 |
182/751 |
current |
187/705 |
From September 10th to 13th, 1952 , a parliamentary assembly consisting of 78 national members elected by the respective national parliaments met for the first time within the framework of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) . The Christian Democrats had 38 MPs at this meeting and thus achieved 48.7% of the seats. On June 23, 1953, they founded the Christian Democratic Group , the first chairman of which was the Dutch Emmanuel Sassen . The German Hans Joachim Opitz was elected the parliamentary group's first general secretary on January 1, 1954. On May 11, Alcide De Gasperi , also a member of the Christian Democratic group, was elected President of Parliament.
After the founding of the European People's Party in 1979, the group also renamed itself the "Group of the EPP". In 1992, the MEPs of the European Democrats (especially the conservative parties from Great Britain and Denmark and some members of the French UDF ) decided to join the EPP Group as associate members. This grew to 162 members and was renamed the Group of the European People's Party and European Democrats (EPP-ED). Since the European elections in 1999 , it has consistently been the strongest political group in the European Parliament. After the European elections in 2009 , however, the alliance disintegrated, so that the EPP again formed a single parliamentary group.
EPP Group Chairmen
Period | Group leader | country |
---|---|---|
1953 to 1958 | Emmanuel Sassen | Netherlands |
1958 to 1958 | Pierre Wigny | Belgium |
1958 to 1966 | Alain Poher | France |
1966 to 1969 | Joseph Illerhaus | Germany |
1969 to 1975 | Hans August Lücker | Germany |
1975 to 1977 | Alfred Bertrand | Belgium |
1977 to 1982 | Egon Klepsch | Germany |
1982 to 1984 | Paolo Barbi | Italy |
1984 to 1992 | Egon Klepsch | Germany |
1992 to 1994 | Leo Tindemans | Belgium |
1994 to 1999 | Wilfried Martens | Belgium |
1999 to 2007 | Hans-Gert Poettering | Germany |
2007 to 2014 | Joseph Daul | France |
2014 until today | Manfred Weber | Germany |
Web links
- Official homepage of the parliamentary group
- Members of the group on the homepage of the European Parliament