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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 Christian-democratic parties in 1976, it has since broadened its membership to include liberal-conservative parties and parties with other centre-right political perspectives. On 31 May 2022, the party elected as its President Manfred Weber, who was also EPP's ''
Spitzenkandidat The president of the European Commission is the head of the European Commission, the executive branch of the European Union (EU). The President of the Commission leads a Cabinet of Commissioners, referred to as the College, collectively account ...
'' in 2019. The EPP has been the largest party in the European Parliament since 1999 and in the
European Council The European Council (informally EUCO) is a collegiate body that defines the overall political direction and priorities of the European Union. It is composed of the heads of state or government of the EU member states, the President of the E ...
since 2002. It is also the largest party in the current European Commission. The
President of the European Commission The president of the European Commission is the head of the European Commission, the executive branch of the European Union (EU). The President of the Commission leads a Cabinet of Commissioners, referred to as the College, collectively account ...
Ursula von der Leyen and the President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola are from the EPP. Many of the founding fathers of the European Union were also from parties that later formed the EPP. Outside the EU the party also controls a majority in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. The EPP includes major centre-right parties such as the CDU/CSU of Germany, The Republicans of France,
CD&V Christian Democratic and Flemish (, , CD&V) is a Flemish Christian-democratic political party in Belgium. The party has historical ties to both trade unionism ( ACV) and trade associations (UNIZO) and the Farmer's League. Until 2001, the party wa ...
of Belgium, PNL of Romania, Fine Gael of Ireland, National Coalition Party of Finland, New Democracy of Greece,
Forza Italia Forza ItaliaThe name is not usually translated into English: ''forza'' is the second-person singular imperative of ''forzare'', in this case translating to "to compel" or "to press", and so means something like "Forward, Italy", "Come on, Ital ...
of Italy, the People's Party (PP) of Spain, the Civic Platform of Poland and the
Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties For ...
of Portugal.


History

According to its website, the EPP is "the family of the political centre-right, whose roots run deep in the history and civilisation of the European continent, and hichhas pioneered the European project from its inception". The EPP was founded in Luxembourg on 8 July 1976 on the initiative of
Jean Seitlinger Jean Seitlinger (16 November 1924 – 1 September 2018) was a French politician who was a member of the National Assembly of France. He represented the Moselle's 5th constituency from 1958 to 1997, with interruptions. From 1979 - 1984 he was a me ...
;
Leo Tindemans Leonard Clemence "Leo" Tindemans (; 16 April 1922 – 26 December 2014) was a Belgian politician. He served as the prime minister of Belgium serving from 25 April 1974 until he resigned as minister on 20 October 1978. He was a member of the Chri ...
, then
Prime Minister of Belgium german: Premierminister von Belgien , insignia = State Coat of Arms of Belgium.svg , insigniasize = 100px , insigniacaption = Coat of arms , insigniaalt = , flag = Government ...
, who became the first President of the EPP; and
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 ...
, who later became both President of the EPP and Prime Minister of Belgium. It had been preceded by the ''Secretariat International des partis démocratiques d'inspiration chrétienne'', founded in 1925, the ''
Nouvelles Equipes Internationales Nouvelles ( wa, Novele) is a town of Wallonia and a dist ...
'', founded in 1946 (or 1948),"On the Road Towards Transnational Party Cooperation in Europe" by Steven van Hecke
in "European View", Volume 3, 2006, from th
Centre for European Studies
and the European Union of Christian Democrats, founded in 1965. In the late 1990s, the Finnish politician
Sauli Niinistö Sauli Väinämö Niinistö (; born 24 August 1948) is a Finnish politician who has served as president of Finland since March 2012, the 12th person to hold that office. A lawyer by education, Niinistö was Chairman of the National Coalition Part ...
negotiated the merger of the European Democrat Union (EDU), of which he was president, into the EPP. In October 2002 the EDU ceased its activities after being formally absorbed by the EPP at a special event in Estoril, Portugal. In recognition of his efforts, Niinistö was elected Honorary President of the EPP the same year. The EPP has had seven Presidents:


Platform and manifesto


Political manifesto and platform

During its Congress in Bucharest in 2012, the EPP updated its political platform after 20 years (since its Congress in Athens in 1992) and approved a
political manifesto A manifesto is a published declaration of the intentions, motives, or views of the issuer, be it an individual, group, political party or government. A manifesto usually accepts a previously published opinion or public consensus or promotes a ...
in which it summarised its main values and policies. The manifesto highlights: * Freedom as a central human right, coupled with responsibility * Respect for traditions and associations * Solidarity to help those in need, who in turn should also make an effort to improve their situation * Ensuring solid public finances * Preserving a healthy environment *
Subsidiarity Subsidiarity is a principle of social organization that holds that social and political issues should be dealt with at the most immediate or local level that is consistent with their resolution. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' defines subsidi ...
* Pluralist democracy and a social market economy The manifesto also describes the EPP's priorities for the EU, including: * European Political Union * Direct election of the
President of the European Commission The president of the European Commission is the head of the European Commission, the executive branch of the European Union (EU). The President of the Commission leads a Cabinet of Commissioners, referred to as the College, collectively account ...
* Completion of the European Single Market * Promotion of the family, improvements in education and health * Strengthening of the common immigration and asylum policy, and integrating immigrants * Continuation of enlargement of the EU, enhancement of the European Neighbourhood Policy and special relationship frameworks for countries that cannot, or do not want to, join the EU * Defining a truly common EU energy policy * Strengthening European political parties


Electoral manifesto

As a central part of its campaign for the
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 ...
in 2009, the EPP approved its election manifesto at its Congress in Warsaw in April that year. The manifesto called for:EPP Manifesto – European Elections 2009
/ref> * Creation of new jobs, continuing reforms and investment in education,
lifelong learning Lifelong learning is the "ongoing, voluntary, and self-motivated"Department of Education and Science (2000).Learning for Life: Paper on Adult Education Dublin: Stationery Office. pursuit of knowledge for either personal or professional reasons ...
, and employment to create opportunities for everyone. *Avoidance of protectionism, and coordination of fiscal and monetary policies. *Increased transparency and surveillance in financial markets. *Making Europe the market leader in green technology. *Increasing the share of
renewable energy Renewable energy is energy that is collected from renewable resources that are naturally replenished on a human timescale. It includes sources such as sunlight, wind, the movement of water, and geothermal heat. Although most renewable energy ...
to at least 20 percent of the energy mix by 2020. *Family-friendly flexibility for working parents, better child care and housing, family-friendly fiscal policies, encouragement of parental leave. *A new strategy to attract skilled workers from the rest of the world to make Europe's economy more competitive, more dynamic and more knowledge-driven.


The Fidesz crisis

Concerns that the Hungarian ruling party Fidesz and its leader Viktor Orbán were undermining the rule of law in Hungary caused a split in the EPP in the run-up of the
2019 European Parliament election The 2019 European Parliament election was held between 23 and 26 May 2019, the ninth parliamentary election since the first direct elections in 1979. A total of 751 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) represent more than 512 million peopl ...
. On one hand, the EPP had been reluctant for years to address Fidesz's stance against the rule of law, expressed by the Article 7 proceedings of the European Parliament. On the other hand, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, a prominent EPP-member, stated "I believe his idesz'splace is not in the European People's Party". Orbán's campaigns targeting billionaire George Soros and Jean-Claude Juncker carried wide reverberations for Europe questioning the EPP's effort to install its lead candidate Manfred Weber as the next
President of the European Commission The president of the European Commission is the head of the European Commission, the executive branch of the European Union (EU). The President of the Commission leads a Cabinet of Commissioners, referred to as the College, collectively account ...
. After years of deferring a decision about the Fidesz issue, the EPP was eventually compelled to address the problem two months before the 2019 European elections, as 13 outraged member parties requested the Hungarian party's exclusion from the EPP due to its billboard campaign featuring Jean-Claude Juncker. 190 of the 193 EPP delegates supported the common agreement with Fidesz on 20 March 2019 to partially suspend its membership. According to it, Fidesz was "until further notice" excluded from EPP meetings and internal elections, but remained in the European People's Party Group of the European Parliament. Fidesz did not deliver on its earlier promise to leave the EPP in case of a penalty. In February 2020, the EPP extended the suspension of Fidesz indefinitely. On 2 April 2020, thirteen parties within the EPP issued a joint statement aimed at Donald Tusk, asking him to expunge Fidesz from the party. Three days before this, the Hungarian Parliament had passed a law, declaring a state of emergency within Hungary, granting Prime Minister Viktor Orbán the right to rule by decree. On 3 March 2021, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán announced that Fidesz would leave the EPP group after it changed its internal rules (to allow suspension and expulsion of multiple deputies and their groups), although Fidesz remained a suspended member of the EPP itself. On 18 March 2021, Fidesz decided to leave the European People's Party.


Membership

Within the EPP there are three kinds of member organisations: full members, associate members and observers. Full members are parties from EU states. They have absolute rights to vote in all the EPP's organs and on all matters. Associate members have the same voting rights as full members except for matters concerning the EU's structure or policies. These associate members are parties from EU candidate countries and EFTA countries. Observer parties can participate in all the activities of the EPP, and attend the Congresses and Political Assemblies, but they do not have any voting rights. Special status of "supporting member" is granted by the Presidency to individuals and associations. Although they do not have voting rights, they can be invited by the President to attend meetings of certain organs of the party.


Full member parties


Associate members

*
Democratic Party of Albania The Democratic Party of Albania ( sq, Partia Demokratike e Shqipërisë, PD or PDSH) is a conservatism in Albania, conservative list of political parties in Albania, political party in Albania. It has been the largest opposition party in the c ...
(PDSh) *
Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization – Democratic Party for Macedonian National Unity Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization – Democratic Party for Macedonian National Unity ( mk, Внатрешна македонска револуционерна организација – Демократска партија за ...
(VMRO–DPMNE) *
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 ...
(H) * Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) * Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians (VMSZ/SVM) * The Centre


Observer members

* Republican Party of Armenia (HHK) *
Rule of Law The rule of law is the political philosophy that all citizens and institutions within a country, state, or community are accountable to the same laws, including lawmakers and leaders. The rule of law is defined in the ''Encyclopedia Britannica ...
(OEK) *
Heritage Heritage may refer to: History and society * A heritage asset is a preexisting thing of value today ** Cultural heritage is created by humans ** Natural heritage is not * Heritage language Biology * Heredity, biological inheritance of physical c ...
*
Belarusian Christian Democracy The Belarusian Christian Democracy ( be, Беларуская хрысьціянская дэмакратыя, Bielaruskaja chryścijanskaja demakratyja; russian: Белорусская христианская демократия, Belorusskaya ...
(BCD) * United Civic Party of Belarus (AHP) * (The Movement for Freedom; MFF) * Party of Democratic Action (SDA) *
Croatian Democratic Union The Croatian Democratic Union ( hr, Hrvatska demokratska zajednica, lit=Croatian Democratic Community, HDZ) is the major conservative, centre-right political party in Croatia. It is one of the two major contemporary political parties in Croa ...
(HDZ BiH) * Party of Democratic Progress (PDP) * Croatian Democratic Union 1990 (HDZ 1990) * United National Movement (UNM) * European Georgia * Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) * Liberal Democratic Party of Moldova (PLDM) * Dignity and Truth Platform Party (PPDA) * Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) *
Democratic Montenegro Democratic Montenegro ( Serbian and Montenegrin: Демократска Црна Гора / ''Demokratska Crna Gora''), also known as the Democrats (Демократе / ''Demokrate''), is a conservative liberal, centrist, populist and pro-Europe ...
(DCG) *
Bosniak Party The Bosniak Party ( bs, Bošnjačka stranka, Cyrillic: Бошњачка странка, abbr. BS) is a conservative and pro-European political party of the Bosniak minority in Montenegro. Its founder and first leader was Rafet Husović, while the ...
(BS) * Christian People's Party (KrF) * Sammarinese Christian Democratic Party (PDCS) * Democratic Alliance *
European Solidarity European Solidarity ( uk, Європейська солідарність, Yevropeis'ka solidarnist', YeS) is a political party in Ukraine. It has its roots in a parliamentary group called Solidarity dating from 2000 and has existed since in vario ...
* Batkivshchyna (since 2008) *
Self Reliance "Self-Reliance" is an 1841 essay written by American transcendentalist philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson. It contains the most thorough statement of one of Emerson's recurrent themes: the need for each individual to avoid conformity and false con ...
(since 2019) * Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reform (UDAR)


Former members

* Belarusian Popular Front (BNF), observer member until 2017 *
Centre of Social Democrats The Centre of Social Democrats (''Centre des démocrates sociaux'', CDS; also translated as ''Democratic and Social Centre'') was a Christian-democratic and centrist political party in France. It existed from 1976 to 1995 and was based directly a ...
* Union for French Democracy *
Rally for the Republic The Rally for the Republic (french: Rassemblement pour la République ; RPR ), was a Gaullist and conservative political party in France. Originating from the Union of Democrats for the Republic (UDR), it was founded by Jacques Chirac in 1976 a ...
* Union for a Popular Movement * Croatian Peasant Party (HSS), member until withdrawal May 2019. * Fidesz, suspended from March 20, 2019. Left EPP on March 18, 2021. * Hungarian Democratic Forum, member until 07.09.2009 *
Christian Democracy Christian democracy (sometimes named Centrist democracy) is a political ideology that emerged in 19th-century Europe under the influence of Catholic social teaching and neo-Calvinism. It was conceived as a combination of modern democratic ...
* Italian People's Party * Christian Democratic Centre * United Christian Democrats * Italian Renewal *
Forza Italia Forza ItaliaThe name is not usually translated into English: ''forza'' is the second-person singular imperative of ''forzare'', in this case translating to "to compel" or "to press", and so means something like "Forward, Italy", "Come on, Ital ...
* Union of Democrats for Europe * The People of Freedom *
New Centre-Right New Centre-Right ( it, Nuovo Centrodestra, NCD) was a centre-right political party in Italy. The party was launched on 15 November 2013 by a group of dissidents of The People of Freedom (PdL) who opposed the party's transformation into Forza Ita ...
*
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...
(PD) * Democratic Liberal Party (PDL) *
Christian Democratic National Peasants' Party The Christian Democratic National Peasants' Party ( ro, Partidul Național Țărănesc Creștin Democrat, officially abbreviated PNȚCD) is a Christian democratic and agrarian political party in Romania. It claims to be the rightful successor o ...
(PNȚ-CD) * Slovak Democratic and Christian Union – Democratic Party (SDKÚ-DS) * Most-Híd * Party of the Hungarian Community *
Basque Nationalist Party The Basque Nationalist Party (, EAJ ; es, Partido Nacionalista Vasco, PNV; french: Parti Nationaliste Basque, PNB; EAJ-PNV), officially Basque National Party in English,) was rejected by party members in November 2011. Nonetheless, the party did ...
*
People's Democratic Party People's Democratic Party or ''variant thereof'', could refer to: * People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan *People's Democratic Party (Belize) *People's Democratic Party (Bhutan) *People's Democratic Party (Chile) * People's Democratic Party (Dom ...
*
Justice and Development Party Justice and Development Party may refer to several political parties, the best-known ones being: * Justice and Development Party (Morocco) * Justice and Development Party (Turkey) Justice and Development Party may also refer to: * Justice and Dev ...
(observer) * People's Movement of Ukraine (observer) * Our Ukraine (observer) *
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 ...
( European Democrats subgroup)


Governance

The EPP is governed by the EU Regulation No 1141/2014 on European Political Parties and European Political Foundations and its operations are supervised by th
EU Authority for European Political Parties and European Political Foundations


Presidency

The Presidency is the executive body of the party. It decides on the general political guidelines of the EPP and presides over its Political Assembly. The Presidency is composed of the President, ten Vice-Presidents, the Honorary Presidents, the Secretary General and the Treasurer. The Chairperson of the EPP Group in the European Parliament, the Presidents of the Commission, the Parliament and the Council, and the High Representative (if they are a member of an EPP member party) are all ''ex officio'' Vice-Presidents. As of 1 June 2022 the Presidency of the EPP is (Vice Presidents in the order of votes received at the EPP Congress in Rotterdam): * Manfred Weber – President (MEP, also EPP Group Chairman, 2019 EPP ''
Spitzenkandidat The president of the European Commission is the head of the European Commission, the executive branch of the European Union (EU). The President of the Commission leads a Cabinet of Commissioners, referred to as the College, collectively account ...
'') *
Thanasis Bakolas Thanasis (Θανάσης) is a Greek given name, short for Athanasios (Αθανάσιος), which can mean "eternal life" or "immortal". Notable people with the name Thanasis or Thanassis include: *Thanasis Antetokounmpo (born 1992), Greek baske ...
– Secretary General * Mariya Gabriel – Vice President (EU Commissioner) *
Esther de Lange Esther M. R. de Lange (; born 19 February 1975) is a Dutch politician serving as a Member of the European Parliament since 2007. A member of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), part of the European People's Party (EPP), she was elected as del ...
– Vice President (MEP) * Johannes Hahn – Vice President (EU Commissioner) *
Siegfried Mureșan Siegfried Mureșan (born 20 September 1981) is a Romanian economist and politician, vice-president of the European People's Party (EPP) since November 2019, vice-president of the European People's Party Group (EPP Group) in the European Parliamen ...
– Vice President (MEP) *
Dubravka Šuica Dubravka Šuica (; born 20 May 1957) is a Croatian politician of the liberal Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) who has been Vice-President of the European Commission for Democracy and Demography since 2019. She previously served as a member of the ...
– Vice President (EU Commissioner) * Petteri Orpo – Vice President (Leader of Kokoomus, former Finance Minister) * David McAllister – Vice President (MEP, former Minister-President) * Andrzej Halicki – Vice President (MEP) *
Antonio Tajani Antonio Tajani (; born 4 August 1953) is an Italian politician, journalist and former Italian Air Force officer, who has served as Deputy Prime Minister of Italy and Minister of Foreign Affairs since 22 October 2022. He served as President of the ...
– Vice President (MEP, former European Parliament President, former Commission Vice President) *
Esteban González Pons Esteban González Pons (Valencia, Spain, Valencia, Spain, 21 August 1964) is a Spanish politician of the People's Party (Spain), People's Party (PP) who has been a Member of the European Parliament since 2014. Early life and career Married, and w ...
– Vice President (MEP) * Paulo Rangel – Treasurer (MEP) * Ursula von der Leyen – ''Ex officio'' Vice-President (President of the European Commission) * Roberta Metsola – ''Ex officio'' Vice-President (President of the European Parliament) *
Sauli Niinistö Sauli Väinämö Niinistö (; born 24 August 1948) is a Finnish politician who has served as president of Finland since March 2012, the 12th person to hold that office. A lawyer by education, Niinistö was Chairman of the National Coalition Part ...
– Honorary President (President of Finland)


EPP Political Assembly

The Political Assembly defines the political positions of the EPP between Congresses and decides on membership applications, political guidelines and the budget. The Political Assembly is composed of designated delegates from EPP member parties, associated parties, member associations, and other affiliated groups. The Political Assembly meets at least three times a year.


Congress

The Congress is the highest decision-making body of the EPP. It is composed of delegates from member parties, EPP associations, EPP Group MEPs, the EPP Presidency, national heads of party and government, and European Commissioners who belong to a member party, with the numbers of delegates being weighted according to the EPP's share of MEPs, and individual delegates being elected by member parties according to member parties' rules. Under the EPP's statutes, the Congress must meet once every three years, but it also meets normally during the years of elections for the European Parliament (every five years), and extraordinary Congresses have also been summoned. The Congress elects the EPP Presidency every three years, decides on the main policy documents and electoral programmes, and provides a platform for the EPP's heads of government and party leaders.


Activities within the party


Summit

EPP leaders meet for the EPP Summit a few hours before each meeting of the
European Council The European Council (informally EUCO) is a collegiate body that defines the overall political direction and priorities of the European Union. It is composed of the heads of state or government of the EU member states, the President of the E ...
in order to formulate common positions. Invitations are sent by the EPP President and attendees include, besides the members of the EPP's presidency, all Presidents and Prime Ministers who are members of the European Council and belong to the EPP; the Presidents of the European Parliament, the European Commission and the
European Council The European Council (informally EUCO) is a collegiate body that defines the overall political direction and priorities of the European Union. It is composed of the heads of state or government of the EU member states, the President of the E ...
, as well as the High Representative for Foreign Affairs, provided that they belong to the EPP; Deputy Prime Ministers or other ministers in those cases where the Prime Minister of a country does not belong to an EPP member party; and, where no EPP member party is part of a government, the leaders of the main EPP opposition party.


Ministerial meetings

Following the pattern of the EPP Summit the party also organises regular EPP Ministerial meetings before each meeting of the Council of the European Union, with ministers, deputy ministers, secretaries of state and
MEPs A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, its ...
in the specific policy field attending: * General Affairs * Foreign Affairs * Economy and Finance * Home Affairs * Justice * Defence * Employment and Social Affairs * Industry * Agriculture * Energy * Environment


Other activities

The EPP also organises working groups on different issues on an '' ad hoc'' basis, as well as meetings with its affiliated members in the European Commission. It also invites individual Commissioners to the EPP Summit meetings and to EPP Ministerial meetings. Following amendments to the EU Regulation that governs europarties in 2007, the EPP, like the other European political parties, is responsible for organising a pan-European campaign for the
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 ...
every five years. According to the Lisbon Treaty, the parties must present candidates for
President of the European Commission The president of the European Commission is the head of the European Commission, the executive branch of the European Union (EU). The President of the Commission leads a Cabinet of Commissioners, referred to as the College, collectively account ...
, but the EPP had already done this by endorsing
José Manuel Barroso José Manuel Durão Barroso (; born 23 March 1956) is a Portuguese politician and university teacher, currently serving as non-executive chairman of Goldman Sachs International. He previously served as the 11th president of the European Commi ...
for a second term in April 2009. The year 2014 saw the first fully-fledged campaign of the EPP ahead of the European elections of that year. The party nominated former Luxembourgish Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker as its candidate for President of the European Commission and led a pan-European campaign in coordination with the national campaigns of all its member parties.


Activities within EU institutions

As of December 2019, the EPP will hold the Presidency of the European Commission with Ursula von der Leyen (CDU).


Overview of the Union's institutions


European Commission

Following EPP's victory in the
2019 European Parliament election The 2019 European Parliament election was held between 23 and 26 May 2019, the ninth parliamentary election since the first direct elections in 1979. A total of 751 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) represent more than 512 million peopl ...
, Ursula von der Leyen was nominated by the EPP as
Commission President The president of the European Commission is the head of the European Commission, the executive branch of the European Union (EU). The President of the Commission leads a Cabinet of Commissioners, referred to as the College, collectively account ...
. She was endorsed by the European Council and elected by an absolute majority in the European Parliament. On 1 December 2019, the von der Leyen Commission officially took office. It includes 10 EPP officeholders out of 27 total Commissioners.


European Parliament

The EPP has the largest group in the European Parliament: the EPP Group. It currently has 182 Members in the European Parliament and its chairman is the German MEP Manfred Weber. In every election for the European Parliament candidates elected on lists of member parties of the EPP are obliged to join the EPP Group in the European Parliament. The EPP Group holds five of the fourteen vice-presidencies of the European Parliament.


European Council

The EPP has 10 out of the 27 EU heads of state or government attending the EPP summit meetings in preparation of the
European Council The European Council (informally EUCO) is a collegiate body that defines the overall political direction and priorities of the European Union. It is composed of the heads of state or government of the EU member states, the President of the E ...
(as of October 2021):


National legislatures


Activities beyond the European Union


In third countries

Through its associate and observer parties the EPP has five head of state or government in non-EU countries:


In the Council of Europe

The Group of the EPP in the Parliamentary Assembly of the
Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; french: Conseil de l'Europe, ) is an international organisation founded in the wake of World War II to uphold European Convention on Human Rights, human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. ...
defends freedom of expression and information, as well as freedom of movement of ideas and religious tolerance. It promotes the principle of subsidiarity and local autonomy, as well as the defence of national, social, and other minorities. The EPP/CD Group is led by Aleksander Pociej, a member of the Polish Civic Platform. The EPP/CD group also includes members from parties that are not related to the EPP itself, including members of the Patriotic Union (Liechtenstein), the Progressive Citizens' Party (Liechtenstein), and the National and Democratic Union (Monaco).


In the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe

The "EPP and like-minded Group" in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is the most active political group in that body. The Group meets regularly and promotes the EPP's positions. The members of the EPP Group also participate in the election-monitoring missions of the OSCE. The Group is chaired by
Walburga Habsburg Douglas Countess Walburga Douglas (born 5 October 1958), ''née'' Walburga Habsburg-Lothringen, is a German-born Swedish lawyer and politician, who served as a member of the Riksdag of Sweden for the Moderate Party from 2006 to 2014. She is the vice-pr ...
(Sweden), and its Vice-Presidents are
Consiglio Di Nino Consiglio Di Nino (born January 24, 1938) is a Canadian businessman and former Senate of Canada senator from 1990 to 2012. Early life and career Born in Italy, Di Nino immigrated to Canada with his family at the age of 13. He attended St Michae ...
(Canada), Vilija Aleknaitė Abramikiene (Lithuania), Laura Allegrini (Italy), and
George Tsereteli George "Gigi" Tsereteli (born 23 February 1964, in Tbilisi, Georgia) is a member and former vice-speaker of the Parliament of Georgia and the president of Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe. Educ ...
(Georgia). The Group also includes members of parties not related to the EPP, accounting for the "like-minded" part of its name. Among them are members of the Patriotic Union (Liechtenstein), the Union for the Principality (Monaco), 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
Conservative Party of Canada The Conservative Party of Canada (french: Parti conservateur du Canada), colloquially known as the Tories, is a federal political party in Canada. It was formed in 2003 by the merger of the two main right-leaning parties, the Progressive Con ...
, and the
Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) * Republican Part ...
of the United States.


In the North Atlantic Treaty Organization

The EPP is also present and active in the Parliamentary Assembly of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization ( NATO), and forms the "EPP and Associated Members" Group there. It is led by the German CDU politician Karl Lamers, who is also the current President of the Assembly. The Group also included members of the
Conservative Party of Canada The Conservative Party of Canada (french: Parti conservateur du Canada), colloquially known as the Tories, is a federal political party in Canada. It was formed in 2003 by the merger of the two main right-leaning parties, the Progressive Con ...
and the
Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) * Republican Part ...
of the United States, but now they're members of the Conservative Group


Relations with the United States

The EPP has close relations with the International Republican Institute (IRI), an organisation funded by the U.S. government especially to promote democracy and democratisation. The EPP and the IRI cooperate within the framework of the European Partnership Initiative. The EPP's late President, Wilfried Martens, endorsed Senator
John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two terms ...
, the Republican nominee for president, in the presidential election in 2008. McCain was also Chairman of the IRI. In 2011 Martens and McCain made joint press statements expressing their concern about the state of democracy in Ukraine.


Global networks

The EPP is the European wing of two global centre-right organisations, the International Democrat Union (IDU) and the
Christian Democrat International The Centrist Democrat International ( es, Internacional Demócrata de Centro) is a Christian-democratic political international. Until 2001, it was known as the Christian Democrat International (CDI); before 1999, it was known as the Christian D ...
(CDI).


Martens Centre

Following the revision in 2007 of the EU Regulation that governs European political parties, allowing the creation of European foundations affiliated to Europarties, the EPP established in the same year its official foundation/think tank, the Centre for European Studies (CES), which was later renamed as the
Martens Centre The Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies, also known as the Martens Centre and previously as the ''Centre for European Studies'', is a think tank and political foundation of the European People's Party (EPP). As the central link of a l ...
. It includes as members all the major national think tanks and foundations affiliated to EPP member parties: the Konrad Adenauer Foundation (CDU), the
Hanns Seidel Foundation The Christian Social Union of Bavaria, CSU-associated Hanns Seidel Foundation (german: Hanns-Seidel-Stiftung) is a German party-associated and taxpayer-money funded political research Foundation (charity), foundation. It was founded in November 19 ...
(CSU), the Foundation for Analysis and Social Studies (PP), the Constantinos Karamanlis Institute for Democracy (ND), the
Jarl Hjalmarson Foundation The Jarl Hjalmarson Foundation is a Democracy Foundation closely linked to the Moderate Party. It focuses on training of politicians active in the Moderate Party’s sister parties, especially women and youth engaged in politics, in countries wher ...
(MOD), the Political Academy of the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) and others. During the European Parliament election campaign in 2009, the Centre launched a web-based campaign module, ''tellbarroso.eu'', to support Jose Manuel Barroso, the EPP's candidate for re-election as Commission President. In 2014, to honour
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 ...
– the late President of the EPP who also founded the CES – changed its name to Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies or simply
Martens Centre The Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies, also known as the Martens Centre and previously as the ''Centre for European Studies'', is a think tank and political foundation of the European People's Party (EPP). As the central link of a l ...
. The current President of the Martens Centre is former Slovak Prime Minister Mikuláš Dzurinda. The Budapest-based
Robert Schuman Institute The Union of the Robert Schuman Institute for Developing Democracy in Central and Eastern Europe (short: Robert Schuman Institute, RSI) is the European level training institution of the European People’s Party political family, based in Buda ...
and the Luxembourg-based Robert Schuman Foundation are also affiliated with the European People's Party.


EPP associations

The EPP is linked to several specific associations that focus on specific groups and organise seminars, forums, publications, and other activities.


Small and Medium Entrepreneurs Europe (SME Europe)

SME Europe is the official business organisation of the EPP and serves as a network for pro-business politicians and political organisations. Its main objective is to shape EU policy in a more SME-friendly way in close cooperation with the SME Circle of the EPP Group in the European Parliament, the DG Enterprise and the pro-business organisations of the EPP's member parties. Its top priorities are to reform the legal framework for SMEs all over Europe and to promote and support the interests of small and medium-sized enterprises. SME Europe was founded in May 2012 by three Members of the European Parliament,
Paul Rübig Paul Rübig (born 6 May 1953) is an Austrian politician who served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from 1996 until 2019. He is a member of the Austrian People's Party, part of the European People's Party. Rübig became a Member o ...
, Nadezhda Neynsky, and
Bendt Bendtsen Bendt Bendtsen (born 25 March 1954) is a Denmark, Danish politician who served as Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from 2009 until 2019. He was the leader of the Conservative People's Party (Denmark), Conservative People's Party from 1999 ...
.


European Democrat Students

European Democrat Students (EDS) is now the official students' organisation of the EPP, though it was founded in 1961, 15 years before the EPP itself. Led by Virgilio Falco, EDS has 40 member organisations, representing nearly 1,600,000 students and young peopleStudents on the Right Way: European Democrat Students 1961–2011
. thinkingeurope.eu. Retrieved on 7 September 2013.
in 31 countries, including Belarus and Georgia. Every year EDS hosts Summer and Winter "universities", and several seminars. It also regularly publishes a magazine, ''Bullseye'', and organises topical campaigns.


European Seniors' Union

Founded in Madrid in 1995 and led by Ann Hermans of the
CD&V Christian Democratic and Flemish (, , CD&V) is a Flemish Christian-democratic political party in Belgium. The party has historical ties to both trade unionism ( ACV) and trade associations (UNIZO) and the Farmer's League. Until 2001, the party wa ...
, the European Seniors' Union (ESU) is the largest political senior citizens' organisation in Europe. The ESU is represented in 26 states with 45 organisations and about 500,000 members.


European Union of Christian Democratic Workers

The European Union of Christian Democratic Workers (EUCDW) is the labour organisation of the EPP, with 24 member organisations in 18 countries. As the officially recognised EPP association of workers, the EUCDW is led by
Elmar Brok Elmar Peter Brok (born 14 May 1946) is a German politician who served as Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from 1980 until 2019, who is best known for his role as chairman of the European Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs. He is a mem ...
,
MEP MEP may refer to: Organisations and politics * Mahajana Eksath Peramuna, a political party in Sri Lanka * Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (1956), a former political alliance in Sri Lanka * Maison européenne de la photographie, a photography centre ...
. It aims at the political unification of a democratic Europe, the development of the EPP based on Christian social teaching, and the defence of workers' interests in European policy-making.


Women of the European People's Party

The Women of the European People's Party (EPP Women) is recognised by the EPP as the official association of women from all like-minded political parties of Europe. EPP Women has more than 40 member organisations from countries of the European Union and beyond. All of them are women's organisations of political parties that are members of the EPP. EPP Women is led by
Doris Pack Doris Pack (born 18 March 1942, Schiffweiler) is a German politician, President oEPP Women President of the Robert Schuman Institute and former Member of the European Parliament 1989–2014. She served as a member of the Bundestag 1974–1983 an ...
.


Youth of the European People's Party

The Youth of the European People's Party (YEPP), led by Lídia Pereira, is the EPP's official youth organisation. It has 64 member organisations, bringing together between one and two million young people in 40 countries.


Notes


References


Bibliography

* * * *Herman, L., Hoerner, J., & Lacey, J. (2021).
Why does the European Right accommodate backsliding states? An analysis of 24 European People's Party votes (2011–2019)
" ''European Political Science Review''


External links

*
Martens Centre the EPP think-tankEPP Group in the European ParliamentEPP Group in the Committee of the Regions

EPP Group in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of EuropeEPP Youth (YEPP)EPP Students (EDS)EPP WomenEPP Seniors (ESU)EPP SME UnionEPP Workers (EUCDW)
{{authority control Political parties established in 1976 Pan-European political parties Centre-right parties in Europe Conservative parties in Europe Christian democratic parties in Europe Liberal conservative parties European Union and the Catholic Church International Democrat Union 1976 establishments in Europe