European Democratic Party

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European Democratic Party

Europäische Demokratische Partei Parti démocrate européen Partito democratico europeo Partido Demócrata Europeo

Image:Eurodemparty.gif

President	François Bayrou MP and Francesco Rutelli MP

Founded	December 9 2004
Headquarters	103 Avenue Franklin Roosevelt 1050 Brussels, Belgium

Political Ideology	Reformism, Centrism
International Affiliation	Alliance of American and European Democrats
European Parliament Group	Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe
Colours	orange and blue

Website	http://www.pde-edp.net/

See also	Politics of the EU Political parties Elections

For other uses, see European Democrats (disambiguation).

The European Democratic Party (EDP) is a centrist European political party very strongly in favour of European integration ("europeanist"). It was initiated on April 16 2004 and formally founded on December 9 in Brussels. François Bayrou of France's UDF and Francesco Rutelli of Italy's Margherita Party serve as the first two co-presidents.

The EDP was founded in reaction to the rising influence of eurosceptic parties within European institutions. It drew pro-European centre-right parties from the European People's Party and centre-left parties from the Party of European Socialists to form a new centrist multinational bloc.

The reformism is another the principal standard of the party and in fact the PDE assembles center reformists in a transverse way, either if they are of social Christian or social democratic or a mixture does not matter.

Its cofounder François Bayrou (UDF) described it as a party for people being neither conservative nor socialist, like the United States Democratic Party.

Current Members are:

As of May 2006, Margherita is in government a core member of Prime Minister Romano Prodi's Olive Tree federation within The Union, and the Lithuanian Labour Party is the largest party in the Lithuanian Seimas.

[edit] Cooperation with ELDR

The meeting of the Parliamentary Group of the liberal democrat European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party which took place in Brussels on July 13, 2004 approved a recommendation to unite the ELDR Group and the EDP Group into the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Group. Although their MEPs currently sit together, these two European political parties remain separate parties.

[edit] External links

Pan-European political organisations	Image:European flag.svg
Recognized by the EU as "political parties at European level":
European Democratic Party \| EUDemocrats \| European Free Alliance \| European Green Party \| Alliance of Independent Democrats in Europe \| Party of the European Left \| European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party \| Alliance for Europe of the Nations \| European People's Party \| Party of European Socialists
Other pan-European confederations of national political parties:
European Anticapitalist Left \| European Christian Political Movement \| European Democrat Union \| Euronat \| European National Front \| Nordic Green Left Alliance \| Movement for European Reform
Dedicated European-level-only parties:
Europe — Democracy — Esperanto \| Europe United \| Newropeans
Groups in the European Parliament	Image:European Parliament 6th term.svg
EPP–ED (264) \| PES (201) \| ALDE (90) \| Greens–EFA (42) \| EUL–NGL (41) \| UEN (34) \| IND/DEM (28) \| N/A (32)
Related articles: table of political parties in Europe by pancontinental organisation, elections in the European Union, party composition of the council