The European Conservatives and Reformists Party (ECR Party), formerly known as Alliance of European Conservatives and Reformists (AECR) (2009–2016) and Alliance of Conservatives and Reformists in Europe (ACRE) (2016–2019), is a

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 in ...

soft Eurosceptic Euroscepticism, also spelled as Euroskepticism or EU-scepticism, is a political position involving criticism of the European Union (EU) and European integration. It ranges from those who oppose some EU institutions and policies, and seek refor ...

European political party with a main focus on reforming 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 de ...

(EU) on the basis of Eurorealism, as opposed to total rejection of the EU (anti-EU-ism). It currently has twenty-four member parties and three further independent members from twenty-one countries, in addition to seven regional partners worldwide. The political movement was founded on 1 October 2009, after the creation of the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR)

political group of the European Parliament The political groups of the European Parliament are the officially recognised political groups consisting of legislators of aligned ideologies in the European Parliament. The European Parliament is unique among supranational assemblies in tha ...

. It was officially recognised by 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 ...

in January 2010. ECR is governed by a board of directors who are elected by the Council, which represents all ECR member parties. The executive board is composed of the President

Giorgia Meloni Giorgia Meloni (; born 15 January 1977) is an Italian politician who has been serving as the Prime Minister of Italy since 22 October 2022, the first woman to hold this position. A member of the Chamber of Deputies since 2006, she has led the ...

, Vicepresident Jorge Buxadé MEP from Spain, and Vicepresident Radosław Fogiel MP from Poland. The party is affiliated with the European Conservatives and Reformists Group in the European Parliament, the pan-European think tank New Direction – The Foundation for European Reform, and the youth organisation the European Young Conservatives. It is also formally associated with the European Conservatives and Reformists Group in the

Committee of the Regions The European Committee of the Regions (CoR) is the European Union's (EU) assembly of local and regional representatives that provides sub-national authorities (i.e. regions, counties, provinces, municipalities and cities) with a direct voice w ...

, in the

Congress of the Council of Europe The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities is the pan-European political assembly representing local and regional authorities from the forty-six member states of the Council of Europe. Its role is to promote local and regional democracy, imp ...

, and in the

NATO Parliamentary Assembly Founded in 1955, the NATO Parliamentary Assembly (NATO PA) serves as the consultative interparliamentary organisation for the North Atlantic Alliance. Its current President is Gerald E. Connolly from the United States, elected in 2019. Its curre ...

. In the

Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) is the parliamentary arm of the Council of Europe, a 46-nation international organisation dedicated to upholding human rights, democracy and the rule of law. The Assembly is made up ...

, the ECR Party forms the European Conservatives Group and Democratic Alliance with the

Identity and Democracy Party The Identity and Democracy Party (french: link=no, Parti Identité et Démocratie; it, Partito Identità e Democrazia; german: link=no, Identität und Demokratie Partei), abbreviated to ID Party and formerly known as the Movement for a Europe ...

History

The European Conservatives and Reformists Party was founded as the ''Alliance of European Conservatives and Reformists'' on 1 October 2009, after the ECR

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 ...

was founded in the wake of the 2009 European Parliament election, and was officially recognised by the European Parliament in January 2010. Amongst ACRE's eight founding members the largest were the

UK Conservative Party The Conservative Party, officially the Conservative and Unionist Party and also known colloquially as the Tories, is one of the two main political parties in the United Kingdom, along with the Labour Party. It is the current governing party, ...

, the Polish PiS and the Czech ODS. ECR was formally constituted under the chairmanship of Belgian MEP Derk Jan Eppink, who was succeeded by Czech MEP

Jan Zahradil Jan Zahradil (born 30 March 1963) is a Czech politician for the Civic Democratic Party (ODS) who has been Member of the European Parliament (MEP) since the Czech Republic entered the European Union in 2004. Zahradil also served as Member of t ...

. At ACRE's first congress was in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

on 8 June 2010, attended by its founding members, including UK Conservative Party Chairman and Czech Prime Minister

Mirek Topolanek Mirek may refer to: * Mirək, a village in Azerbaijan * Mirek Mazur, Canadian cycling coach of Polish origin * Mirek Topolánek, Czech politician * Mirek Switalski, Mexican sports shooter * Mirek Smíšek, New Zealander artist of Czech origin * Jo ...

. On 25 March 2011, the Civic Conservative Party from Slovakia joined; Iceland's Independence Party in November 2011 (the party's first member from outside the European Union); Georgia's Christian-Democratic Movement in August 2012; Italy's Conservatives and Social Reformers in October 2012; the Conservative Party of Canada became the ACRE's first associate member (later renamed 'regional partners') in November 2012;

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

's ruling Justice and Development Party in November 2013; and the

Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic island group and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. They are located north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway bet ...

' People's Party, and

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

's New Republic; and in July 2014,

Prosperous Armenia Prosperous Armenia Party (PAP; hy, Բարգավաճ Հայաստան կուսակցություն, Bargavatch Hayastan kusaktsut’yun, abbreviated as ԲՀԿ BHK), is a conservative political party in Armenia. It was founded by businessman Gagi ...

. The Conservative Party of Georgia and New Majority joined on 1 November 2014. At the same time, the ACRE formally affiliated to the European Conservatives Group in the

. In November 2015, the Conservatives and Reformists of Italy were admitted as ECR Party members, followed by the Alliance for Progress and Renewal (ALFA) of Germany and M10 party of Romania in March 2016. The

Liberal Party of Australia The Liberal Party of Australia is a centre-right political party in Australia, one of the two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-left Australian Labor Party. It was founded in 1944 as the successor to the United Au ...

Istiqlal Party The Istiqlal Party ( ar, حزب الإستقلال, translit=Ḥizb Al-Istiqlāl, lit=Independence Party; french: Parti Istiqlal; zgh, ⴰⴽⴰⴱⴰⵔ ⵏ ⵍⵉⵙⵜⵉⵇⵍⴰⵍ) is a political party in Morocco. It is a conservative and ...

of Morocco, National Party of New Zealand, and Republican Party of the United States joined as further regional partners in 2014, followed by Afek Tounes and

Likud Likud ( he, הַלִּיכּוּד, HaLikud, The Consolidation), officially known as Likud – National Liberal Movement, is a major centre-right to right-wing political party in Israel. It was founded in 1973 by Menachem Begin and Ariel Sha ...

Movement in 2015 and 2016. The ''Alliance of European Conservatives and Reformists'' officially changed its name to the ''Alliance of Conservatives and Reformists in Europe'' (ACRE) on 6 October 2016. In December 2018, ACRE was ordered to repay more than half a million euros of EU funds, following an investigation into their spending. This included €250,000 for a three-day conference in Miami and €90,000 for a trade meeting in

Kampala Kampala (, ) is the capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper has a population of 1,680,000 and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala Central Division, Kawempe Division, Makindye Division, Nakawa Division, and Ruba ...

. ACRE had previously been asked to return €121,000 given to the

party. More recently the ECR has seen a shift further towards the conservative right with the acceptance of the Brothers of Italy,

Forum for Democracy Forum for Democracy ( nl, Forum voor Democratie, FvD) is a right-wing populist Eurosceptic political party in the Netherlands that was founded as a think tank by Thierry Baudet and Henk Otten in 2016. The party first participated in elections ...

, Vox and Sweden Democrats as members in 2019.

Members

Member parties

The following parties listed below are members of the ECRP as of 2021.

Regional partners

Former member parties

* :

(until 2022) * : Popular Front Party of Whole Azerbaijan (until 2022) * : Libertarian, Direct, Democratic (2010–14) * :

Reload Bulgaria Reload Bulgaria ( bg, Презареди България, Prezaredi Balgariya; formerly Bulgaria Uncensored, bg, България без цензура) is a populist political party in Bulgaria. History The party was created by former TV host ...

(until 2019) * : Croatian Conservative Party (until 2021, dissolved) * : People's Party (until 2022) * :

Finns Party The Finns Party, formerly known as the True Finns ( fi, Perussuomalaiset, PS, sv, Sannfinländarna, Sannf.), is a right-wing populist political party in Finland. It was founded in 1995 following the dissolution of the Finnish Rural Party. The ...

(2015–17) * :

Blue Reform The Finnish Reform Movement ( fi, Korjausliike, korj), is a Finnish conservative political party. It was founded by the 19 MPs who left the Finns Party on 13 June 2017 in protest against Jussi Halla-aho having been elected party leader. The n ...

(until 2022) * :

France Arise Debout la France (, ; DLF) is a French political party founded by Nicolas Dupont-Aignan in 1999 under the name Debout la République (''Republic Arise'', DLR) as the "genuine Gaullist" branch of the Rally for the Republic (RPR). It was relaunched ...

(2019–20) * : Conservative Party of Georgia (2014–2022) * :

Hungarian Democratic Forum The Hungarian Democratic Forum ( hu, Magyar Demokrata Fórum, MDF) was a centre-right political party in Hungary. It had a Hungarian nationalist, national-conservative, Christian-democratic ideology. The party was represented continuously in the ...

(2009–11) * : Independence Party (2011–2021) * : Conservatives and Social Reformers (2012–14) * :

Direction Italy Direction Italy ( it, Direzione Italia, DI) was a liberal-conservative political party in Italy. The party was led by Raffaele Fitto, an MEP in the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group. History The party was formed in January 2017 ...

(2017–2022; merged into fellow ECR member Brothers of Italy in 2019) * :

Democratic Party of Kosovo The Democratic Party of Kosovo ( sq, Partia Demokratike e Kosovës; abbr. ''PDK'') is one of the largest political parties in Kosovo. It was originally a social-democratic party coming out of the demilitarised Kosovo Liberation Army after the K ...

(until 2022) * : For Fatherland and Freedom/LNNK (2009–11; merged in 2011 into National Alliance, which became a member in 2014) * :

Șor Party The Șor Party ( ro, Partidul „ȘOR”, ), known from its foundation in 1998 until October 2016 as the Socio-Political Movement "Equality" ( ro, Mișcarea social-politică „Ravnopravie”), is a populist political party in Moldova. A member o ...

(2018–22) * :

(2014–18) * :

Movement for Changes Movement for Changes (, PZP) is a right-wing populist, sovereignist and conservative political party in Montenegro. Its current leader is Nebojša Medojević, the party's founder. History Party was founded by a group of economists and academic ...

(until 2022) * :

(until 2020) * : National Unity Party (until 2022) * :

Poland Comes First Poland Comes First ( pl, Polska jest Najważniejsza), also rendered as Poland is the Most Important, shortened to Poland First, and abbreviated to PJN, was a centre-right, conservative liberal, political party in Poland. It was formed as a more ...

(2010–14) * : New Republic (2013–18) * : Civic Conservative Party (2009–22) * : New Majority (until 2021) * : Justice and Development Party (2013–18) * : Conservative Party (2009–21)

Former regional partners

* :

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

(until 2022) * : Conservative Party (until 2022) * : Democratic Center (until 2022) * : Jubilee Party (until 2022) * :

Progressive Party of Maldives The Progressive Party of Maldives ( dv, ޕްރޮގްރެސިވް ޕާރޓީ އޮފް މޯލްޑިވްސް), also known by its PPM, is an Islamist political party in Maldives with a total membership of 37,093 as of 11 July 2021. The stated goal o ...

(until 2022) * : National Party (until 2022) * : Chadema (until 2022) * : Afek Tounes (until 2019)

Elected representatives of member parties

European institutions

ECR affiliate groupings

The ACRE is formally affiliated to groupings in the

and the

of the European Union, the

and the

European Parliament

The ECR group is the sixth-largest group in the European Parliament. Founded in 2009, the ECR brings together 64 MEPs from 15 countries. The ECR currently is led by two co-chairmen,

Ryszard Legutko Ryszard Antoni Legutko (), (born 24 December 1949), is a Polish philosopher and politician, and professor of philosophy at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków, specializing in ancient philosophy and political theory. Biography Under communi ...

of the Polish Law and Justice party and

Raffaele Fitto Raffaele Fitto (born 28 August 1969) is an Italian politician and a member of the European Parliament. He is serving as the minister of European affairs in the Meloni Cabinet since 2022. Career Born in Maglie, Fitto was elected in 1999 at Europ ...

of the Brothers of Italy party.

Committee of the Regions

Following the creation of the ECR Group in the European Parliament in 2009, and the creation of the ACRE in 2010, the ECR Group in the Committee of the Regions was formed on 10 April 2013 under the leadership of Gordon Keymer CBE and with the support of the ACRE. The Group was officially announced during the 11–12 April 100th Committee of the Regions plenary session. The ECR Group was the first Group to be formed in the Committee of the Regions during the course of a mandate and was the first ECR Group to be formed outside of the European Parliament. The President of the Group is Cllr. Gordon Keymer CBE (Leader of Tandridge District Council) and the Vice-Presidents are Dan Jiránek (Mayor of Kladno) and Daiva Matonienė (Deputy Mayor of Šiauliai City Council). Adam Banaszak (Member of the Kujawsko-Pomorskie regional assembly), Cllr. Kay Twitchen OBE (Member of Essex County Council) and Cllr. Judith Pearce (Deputy Leader of Wychavon District Council and Executive board member for Planning, Infrastructure and Housing).

Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe

The European Conservatives Group in the European Parliament, founded in 1970 and existing for most of its history as the 'European Democrat Group' became officially affiliated to the ACRE on 29 September 2014. The EC group is led by Samad Seyidov MP, of the New Azerbaijan Party. As of 23 October 2014, the European Conservatives have the following members:

Congress of the Council of Europe

The ECR group in the

brings together representatives in local government from across Europe. It has 31 members, 26 of whom represent parties in the ECRP.

Youth organisation

European Young Conservatives

The European Young Conservatives (EYC) is ECR Party's youth wing. It brings together conservative and political parties from across Europe. As of 2020, the group has a membership of 30 political youth organisations from 30 countries and territories. Its patron was Margaret Thatcher until her death in 2013.

Principles

ECRP adopted the Reykjavík Declaration at its Council Meeting on 21 March 2014. The declaration defines the principles that underpin ECR. The Reykjavík Declaration *The European Conservatives and Reformists Party brings together parties committed to individual liberty, national sovereignty, parliamentary democracy, the rule of law, private property, low taxes, sound money, free trade, open competition, and the devolution of power. *ECRP believes in a Europe of independent nations, working together for mutual gain while each retaining its identity and integrity. *ECRP is committed to the equality of all European democracies, whatever their size, and regardless of which international associations they join. *ECRP favors the exercise of power at the lowest practicable level—by the individual where possible, by local or national authorities in preference to supranational bodies. *ECRP understands that open societies rest upon the dignity and autonomy of the individual, who should be as free as possible from state coercion. The liberty of the individual includes freedom of religion and worship, freedom of speech and expression, freedom of movement and association, freedom of contract and employment, and freedom from oppressive, arbitrary or punitive taxation. *ECRP recognizes the equality of all citizens before the law, regardless of ethnicity, sex or social class. It rejects all forms of extremism, authoritarianism and racism. *ECRP cherishes the important role of civil associations, families and other bodies that fill the space between the individual and the government. *ECRP acknowledges the unique democratic legitimacy of the nation-state. *ECRP is committed to the spread of free commerce and open competition, in Europe and globally. *ECRP supports the principles of the Prague Declaration of March 2009 and the work of the European Conservatives and Reformists in the European Parliament and allied groups on the other European assemblies.

Notes

References

External links

*
European Conservatives and Reformists Party
Official website {{Christian democracy Political parties established in 2009 Pan-European political parties Conservative parties in Europe International Democrat Union Centre-right parties in Europe Right-wing parties in Europe Eurosceptic parties Organisations associated with the Conservative Party (UK) Organisations based in Brussels 2009 establishments in Europe