European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party
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| European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party | |
|---|---|
| Europäische liberale demokratische und Reformpartei Parti européen des Libéraux, Démocrates et Réformateurs Partito europeo dei democratici, liberali e riformatori Partido Europeo de los Liberales, Demócratas y Reformistas | |
| Image:Logo eldr.png | |
| President | Annemie Neyts-Uyttebroeck MEP |
| Founded | March 1976 (as "Federation of Liberal and Democrat Parties in Europe") April 30, 2004 (as formal Party) |
| Headquarters | rue Montoyer 40, 1000 Brussels, Belgium |
| Political Ideology | Liberalism |
| International Affiliation | Liberal International |
| European Parliament Group | Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe |
| Colours | Gold and Blue |
| Website | www.eldr.org |
| See also | Politics of the EU |
The European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party (founded in 1993) is a liberal party, mainly active in the European Union, composed of 49 national liberal and centrist parties from across Europe.
Having developed from a loose confederation of national political parties in the 1970s, the ELDR is now a recognised European political party incorporated as a non-profit association under Belgian law. Despite this legal status, the ELDR Party has yet to achieve significant grassroots involvement and retains much of the character of a mere confederation of national political parties.
As of 2006, the ELDR is the third-largest political party represented in EU institutions, with 62 MEPs and 8 members of the European Commission.
The Party is politically represented in the European Parliament by the ALDE Group, formed in conjunction with the centrist European Democratic Party, which is dominated by ELDR MEPs and led by Graham Watson, a British Liberal Democrat and former leader of the separate ELDR Parliamentary Group.
Nationally, ELDR member parties participate in the national governments of 10 out of the 25 EU Member States, contributing four prime ministers:
- Andrus Ansip (ERP, Estonia)
- Anders Fogh Rasmussen (Venstre, Denmark)
- Matti Vanhanen (Keskusta, Finland)
- Guy Verhofstadt (VLD, Belgium)
The youth wing of the ELDR Party is the European Liberal Youth, which is predominantly based upon youth and student liberal organisations from across Europe but also contains a small number of individual members. LYMEC is led by Spanish politician Roger Alibinyana i Saigi, who was elected to a two-year term as LYMEC President in April 2004, and has a collective membership of over 170,000 young liberal Europeans.
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[edit] Leadership
The leadership of the ELDR Party is Annemie Neyts, a Flemish MEP for the Belgian VLD and spokesperson on Foreign affairs, security and defense for the ALDE group. Neyts was elected for a two-year term of office at the meeting of the ELDR Party Congress held in Bratislava in September 2005, defeating former Dutch foreign minister Jozias van Aartsen, parliamentary leader of the Dutch VVD.
In her mission statement for the party presidency, Annemie Neyts declared: “The most fundamental tenets of ELDR, liberalism, the spread of freedom, democracy and economic development by virtue of integration into the EU and the EU herself are being questioned as seldom before. The need for a strong, well-articulated, future-oriented answer from ELDR, the European political party that embodies liberalism has never been greater. I intend to spend a large amount of my time helping ELDR meet the huge challenges it is faced with.”
Former President of Liberal International between 1999 and 2005, Annemie Neyts was Belgian State secretary for Foreign Affairs in 2000-2001 and Deputy Minister for foreign Affairs in charge of European Affairs, International trade and Agriculture between 2001 and 2003. She was previously a Minister for the Brussels region and Member of Parliament in Belgium.
[edit] Structure
[edit] Bureau
The day to day management of the ELDR Party is handled by the Bureau, the members of which are:
President
- Annemie Neyts MEP (VLD, Belgium): ELDR Party President
Vice-Presidents
- Sharon Bowles MEP (Lib Dem, UK)
- Wilfried Derksen (D66, Netherlands)
- Katarina Gloncakova-Golev (ANO, Slovakia) (ANO Vice-President)
- Johannes Lebech (RV, Denmark)
- Markus Löning MP (FDP, Germany)
- Calin Popescu Tariceanu MP (PNL, Romania) (Prime Minister of Romania)
- Vesna Pusić MP (HNS, Croatia)
Treasurer
ALDE Group Leaders
- Graham Watson MEP (Lib Dem, UK): ALDE Group Leader, European Parliament
- Matyas Eörsi MP (SZDSZ, Hungary): ALDE Group Leader, Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
- Ivo Opstelten (VVD, Netherlands): ALDE Group Leader, EU Committee of the Regions
Other Party Officials
- Willy De Clercq MEP (VLD, Belgium): Honorary President
- Lex Corijn (VLD, Belgium): ELDR Party Secretary-General
- Alexander Beels (VVD, Netherlands): ALDE Group Secretary-General
- Roger Albinyana i Saigi (Convergencia, Catalonia): President, European Liberal Youth (LYMEC)
[edit] ELDR Congress
The ELDR Congress is the sovereign body of the ELDR aisbl, usually meeting on an annual basis, and as such its primary purposes are to:
- Elect members of the ELDR Bureau
- Debate, and adopt, resolutions on matters of policy;
- Adopt the ELDR Party's electoral manifesto for European Parliament elections
- Make amendments to the ELDR Party Statutes
The voting members of the ELDR Congress number around 600-700, and are composed of:
- Members of the ELDR Council
- A number of representatives nominated by each of the Member Parties based on the number of votes that Party received at the last set of European Parliament elections,
- 2 representatives nominated by each of the Affiliate Parties, and
- 10 representatives nominated by the European Liberal Youth.
In addition to the voting members of the ELDR Congress, the following are entitled to attend as non-voting members:
- ELDR members of the European Parliament,
- ELDR members of the EU Committee of the Regions,
- One delegate nominated by each of the liberal democrat groupings in other European parliamentary assemblies, and
- One delegate nominated by Liberal International
[edit] ELDR Council
The ELDR Council acts as the ELDR Party's de facto executive committee, meeting in between meetings of the ELDR Congress, and is empowered to:
- Approve the budget of the ELDR Party;
- Approve ELDR membership applications; and
- Speak and act on behalf of the ELDR Party in between meetings of the ELDR Congress.
The voting members of the ELDR Council number around 100-150 members and are composed of:
- Voting members of the Bureau,
- Two or more representatives nominated by each of the Member Parties based on the number of votes that Party received at the last set of European Parliament elections, and
- One representative nominated by each of the Affiliate Parties, and
- One representative nominated by the European Liberal Youth
In addition to the voting members of the ELDR Council, the following are entitled to attend as non-voting members:
- Non-voting members of the Bureau,
- One representative nominated by each of the liberal democrat groups in European parliamentary assemblies (including the European Parliament and the Committee of the Regions), and
- One representative nominated by Liberal International
[edit] ELDR Political Leaders Meeting
In addition to the formal structure of the ELDR Party, there are convened at least two meetings a year of the Political Leaders Meeting in order to exchange views on the items on the agenda of the European Council and more general views on the European political situation.
The members of the Political Leaders Meeting are:
- The President and Vice-Presidents of the ELDR Party,
- ELDR Members of the European Commission,
- ELDR Heads of Government,
- The political leaders of ELDR Member Parties,
- Other ELDR Ministers,
- The President of the European Liberal Youth
[edit] History of pan-European liberalism
| The Liberalism series, part of the Politics series |
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| National variants |
| American liberalism |
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| Ideas |
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| Organizations |
| Liberal parties worldwide |
| Liberal International · Iflry |
| ELDR/ALDE · Lymec CALD · ALN · Relial. CLH |
| Politics Portal |
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See also: History of pan-European liberalism
Pan-European liberalism has a long history dating back to the foundation of Liberal International in April 1947. In March 1976, the Federation of Liberal and Democrat Parties in Europe was established, which gradually evolved into the ELDR Party with a group in the European Parliament
At an extraordinary Congress in Brussels held on April 30 2004 the day before the enlargement of the European Union, the ELDR Party incorporated itself under Belgian law, being the first step towards legal recognition as a European political party.
It originated as the European Liberal, Democrat and Reform party grouping with seats in the European Parliament, but on April 30, 2004 (the day before the enlargement of the European Union) reformed itself as a pan-European political party, although it has yet to organise itself at a grassroots level.
This was followed later that year by the establishment of the ALDE political group in the European Parliament, in collaboration with the newly established EDP Party.
[edit] European Commissioners
ELDR Member Parties contribute 7 out of the 25 members of the European Commission:
- Siim Kallas (ERP, Estonia): Vice-President (Administrative Affairs, Audit and Anti-Fraud)
- Mariann Fischer Boel (Venstre, Denmark): Agriculture and Rural Development
- Neelie Kroes (VVD, Netherlands): Competition
- Louis Michel (MR, Belgium): Development and Humanitarian Aid
- Olli Rehn (Keskusta, Finland): Enlargement
- Andris Piebalgs (Latvian Way, Latvia): Energy
- Janez Potočnik (LDS, Slovenia): Science and Research
In addition to the 7 Commissioners contributed by ELDR Member Parties, one Commissioner is contributed by DIKO of Cyprus, which is not affiliated to the ELDR Party but sits with the ELDR within the ALDE Group in the European Parliament:
- Markos Kyprianou (DIKO,Cyprus): Health and Consumer Protection
[edit] Member Parties
Image:Flag of Albania.svg Albania
- Democratic Alliance Party (Partia Aleanca Demokratike)
Image:Flag of Andorra.svg Andorra
- Liberal Party of Andorra (Partit Liberal d'Andorra)
Image:Flag of Austria.svg Austria
- Liberal Forum (Liberales Forum)
Image:Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Belgium
- Flemish Liberals and Democrats (Vlaamse Liberalen en Democraten)
- Reformist Movement (Mouvement Réformateur)
Image:Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina.svg Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Liberal Democratic Party (Liberalno Demokratska Stranka)
Image:Flag of Bulgaria (bordered).svg Bulgaria
- Movement for Rights and Freedoms (Dvizhenie za prava i svobodi)
- National Movement for Simeon II (Nacionalno Dvizhenie Simeon Vtori)
Image:Flag of Croatia.svg Croatia
- Croatian People's Party-Liberal Democrats (Hrvatska Narodna Stranka - Liberalni Demokrati)
- Croatian Social Liberal Party (Hrvatska socijalno liberalna stranka)
- Istrian Democratic Assembly (Istarski demokratski sabor/Dieta Democratica Istriana)
Image:Flag of Cyprus.svg Cyprus
- United Democrats (Enomeni Dimokrates)
Image:Flag of the Czech Republic (bordered).svg Czech Republic
- Civic Democratic Alliance (Obcanska demokraticka aliance)
Image:Flag of Denmark.svg Denmark
- Radical Left - Social Liberal Party (Det Radikale Venstre)
- Left - Liberal Party (Venstre)
Image:Flag of Estonia.svg Estonia
- Centre Party of Estonia (Eesti Keskerakond )
- Estonian Reform Party (Eesti Reformierakond)
Image:Flag of Finland (bordered).svg Finland
- Centre Party of Finland (Suomen Keskusta)
- Swedish People's Party (Svenska Folkpartiet)
Image:Flag of France.svg France
- Left Radical Party (Parti Radical de Gauche)
Image:Flag of Germany.svg Germany
- Free Democratic Party (Freie Demokratische Partei)
Image:Flag of Hungary.svg Hungary
- Alliance of Free Democrats (Szabad Demokratak Szövetsege )
Image:Flag of Ireland.svg Ireland
- European Republican Movement (Movimento Repubblicani Europei)
- Italian Radicals (Radicali Italiani)
- Italian Republican Party (Partito Repubblicano Italiano)
- Italy of Values (Italia dei Valori)
Image:Flag of Latvia.svg Latvia
- Latvian Way (Latvijas Ceļš)
Image:Flag of Lithuania.svg Lithuania
- Liberal and Centre Union (Liberalų ir centro sąjunga)
- New Union Social Liberals (Naujoji sąjunga (socialliberalai))
Image:Flag of Luxembourg.svg Luxembourg
- Democratic Party (Luxembourg) (Demokratesch Partei) (Democratic Party)
Image:Flag of Macedonia.svg Republic of Macedonia
- Liberal Party of Macedonia (Liberalna Partija na Makedonija)
- Liberal Democratic Party (Liberalno-Demokratska Partija)
Image:Flag of the Netherlands.svg Netherlands
- Democrats 66 (Democraten 66)
- People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie)
Image:Flag of Norway.svg Norway
- Liberal Party (Venstre)
Image:Flag of Poland (bordered).svg Poland
- Democratic Party - demokraci.pl (Partia Demokratyczna - demokraci.pl)
- National Liberal Party (Partidul Naţional Liberal)
Image:Flag of Russia (bordered).svg Russia
- Yabloko (Российская демократическая партия "Яблоко")
Image:Flag of Serbia (state) (bordered).svg Serbia
- Civic Alliance of Serbia (Građjanski savez Srbije)
- Liberals of Serbia (Liberali Srbije)
- Kosovo
- Liberal Party of Kosovo (Partia Liberale e Kosoves)
Image:Flag of Slovakia.svg Slovakia
- Alliance of the New Citizen (Aliancia Nového Občana)
Image:Flag of Slovenia.svg Slovenia
- Liberal Democracy of Slovenia (Liberalna demokracija Slovenije)
- Democratic Convergence of Catalonia (Convergència Democràtica de Catalunya)
- Mallorcan Union (Unió Mallorquina)
Image:Flag of Sweden.svg Sweden
- Centre Party (Centerpartiet)
- Liberal People's Party (Folkpartiet Liberalerna)
Image:Flag of Switzerland.svg Switzerland
- Free Democratic Party of Switzerland (Freisinnig-Demokratische Partei/Parti Radical Démocratique)
Image:Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
da:ELDR de:Europäische Liberale, Demokratische und Reformpartei et:Euroopa liberaalsete ja reformiparteide ühendus es:Partido Europeo Liberal Demócrata Reformista eo:Eŭropa Liberala Demokrata Reforma Partio fr:Parti européen des libéraux, démocrates et réformateurs it:Partito Europeo dei Liberali, Democratici e Riformatori nl:ELDR pl:Partia Europejskich Liberałów, Demokratów i Reformatorów ro:Partidul European Liberal Democrat şi Reformist ru:Европейская либерально-демократическая и реформистская партия fi:Euroopan liberaalidemokraattinen puolue sv:Europeiska liberala, demokratiska och reformistiska partiet
