The Movement for European Reform, abbreviated to MER, was a pan-European alliance of national
centre-right
Centre-right politics lean to the right of the political spectrum, but are closer to the centre. From the 1780s to the 1880s, there was a shift in the Western world of social class structure and the economy, moving away from the nobility and ...
political parties
A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or pol ...
with
conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
,
pro-free market and
Eurosceptic inclinations. It consisted of the
Conservative Party
The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right.
Political parties called The Conservative P ...
of the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
and the
Civic Democratic Party of the
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
.
Founded on 13 July 2006, MER was created as a precursor to the
Alliance of European Conservatives and Reformists (AECR) and
European Conservatives and Reformists
The European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) is a soft Eurosceptic, anti- federalist political group of the European Parliament. The ECR is the parliamentary group of the European Conservatives and Reformists Party (ECR Party) European pol ...
(ECR), a
political group
A political group is a group consisting of political parties or legislators of aligned ideologies. A technical group is similar to a political group, but with members of differing ideologies.
International terms
Equivalent terms are used differ ...
in the
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...
that was launched in June 2009 following
European elections
Elections to the European Parliament take place every five years by universal adult suffrage; with more than 400 million people eligible to vote, they are considered the second largest democratic elections in the world after India's.
Until ...
. Its operations folded into the ECR and the AECR later that year.
History
MER was formed as an interim measure to function outside the European Parliament
until a new
group
A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together.
Groups of people
* Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity
* Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic ide ...
could be formed within it after the 2009 elections.
Until then, its MEPs continued as members of the now-dissolved
ED subgroup within the broader
EPP-ED
The European People's Party Group (EPP Group) is a centre-right political group of the European Parliament consisting of deputies (MEPs) from the member parties of the European People's Party (EPP). Sometimes it also includes independent MEPs ...
group.
Since its launch, it was unclear as to whether the MER would remain a simple pan-European alliance or apply for official recognition as a ''
political party at European level'' (sometimes called a ''Europarty''). The body's founding statement expressly offered membership to parties from non-EU member states, a characteristic of other Europarties, and its commitment to fight the 2009 election together suggested an appetite for recognition.
After the
2009 European election, members of the MER initiated the
European Conservatives and Reformists Group, a new
political group in the European Parliament.
The MER website stopped being updated in 2007 and, in June 2009, the British Conservative
Shadow Foreign Secretary
In UK politics, the Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs is a position within the opposition's shadow cabinet that deals mainly with issues surrounding the Foreign Office. If elected, the person serving as ...
William Hague
William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...
said that the MER's aims and activities would be folded into the new European Parliamentary group.
Ideology
MER's position was that the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
should exist; however, it should be a looser supranational organisation than the current structure. This makes it more
Eurosceptic than the three major
European-level political movements (the
European People's Party
The European People's Party (EPP) is a European political party with Christian-democratic, conservative, and liberal-conservative member parties. A transnational organisation, it is composed of other political parties. Founded by primarily Ch ...
,
Party of European Socialists
The Party of European Socialists (PES) is a social democratic and progressive European political party.
The PES comprises national-level political parties from all member states of the European Union (EU) plus Norway and the United Kingdom ...
and
European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party
European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to:
In general
* ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe
** Ethnic groups in Europe
** Demographics of Europe
** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe a ...
), but less Eurosceptic than formations such as the
Europe of Freedom and Democracy
Europe of Freedom and Democracy (EFD) was a Eurosceptic political group in the European Parliament. The group was formed following the 2009 European parliamentary election, mostly composed of elements of the Independence/Democracy (IND/DEM) and ...
, the successor to the
Independence and Democracy
Independence/Democracy (IND/DEM) was a Eurosceptic political group active during the 2004–2009 term of the European Parliament. The group was the successor to the Europe of Democracies and Diversities (EDD) group.
The group collapsed foll ...
group in the European Parliament.
Members
Members of MER were:
* -
Conservative Party
The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right.
Political parties called The Conservative P ...
* -
Civic Democratic Party
In the first week of March 2007, under
Petar Stoyanov
Petar Stefanov Stojanov ( bg, Петър Стефанов Стоянов ; born 25 May 1952) is a Bulgarian politician who was President of Bulgaria from 1997 to 2002. He was elected as a candidate of the Union of Democratic Forces (UDF). He di ...
, the
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
n
Union of Democratic Forces (UDF) decided to join. A day after the UDF's announcement, the Presidency of the
European People's Party
The European People's Party (EPP) is a European political party with Christian-democratic, conservative, and liberal-conservative member parties. A transnational organisation, it is composed of other political parties. Founded by primarily Ch ...
(EPP) recommended that UDF be suspended from the EPP. The President of the EPP
Wilfried Martens
Wilfried Achiel Emma Martens (; 19 April 1936 – 9 October 2013) was a Belgian politician who served as prime minister of Belgium from 1979 to 1981 and from 1981 to 1992. A member of the Flemish Christian People's Party, during his premiership ...
justified the suspension, arguing that:
In mid April 2007, the UDF backtracked and stated that it remained loyal to the EPP and that it would never leave the EPP section of the
EPP-ED
The European People's Party Group (EPP Group) is a centre-right political group of the European Parliament consisting of deputies (MEPs) from the member parties of the European People's Party (EPP). Sometimes it also includes independent MEPs ...
Group to join another Group. A month later, in the first-ever elections for the European Parliament in Bulgaria (20 May 2007) the UDF failed to elect any seats. As a result, Petar Stoyanov - who was accused by his critics of making poor decisions during the campaign, including the MER choice - resigned as UDF leader. In September 2007, the UDF formally withdrew from the MER and re-affirmed its membership with the EPP.
References
External links
Official website, expired domainNotes from the Conservative Party on the MER (PDF)Speech by David Cameron on founding of MER
{{EU politics
Eurosceptic parties
European Conservatives and Reformists
Political parties established in 2006
Political parties disestablished in 2009
Pan-European political parties
Conservative parties in Europe
2006 establishments in the European Union
2009 disestablishments in the European Union