The Union of European Democrats ( pl, Unia Europejskich Demokratów, UED) is a

liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

political party in Poland. It is led by Elżbieta Bińczycka. It was founded as a merger of

Democratic Party – demokraci.pl The Democratic Party ( pl, Partia Demokratyczna – demokraci.pl), abbreviated to PD, was a minor social-liberal political party in Poland. It had no members of the Sejm, Senate, or European Parliament. Its foundation was publicly announced o ...

and "European Democrats" in November 2016. It joined the parliamentary group of the

Polish People's Party The Polish People's Party ( pl, Polskie Stronnictwo Ludowe, PSL) is an agrarian political party in Poland. It is currently led by Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz. Its history traces back to 1895, when it held the name People's Party, although i ...

in 2018, and later participated in upcoming elections under the European Coalition and

Polish Coalition The Polish Coalition ( pl, Koalicja Polska, KP) is a political alliance in Poland. It is led by the Polish People's Party. It was formed in 2019. In the 2019 parliamentary election, the Polish Coalition placed fourth, winning 30 seats in tot ...

. Ideologically, it supports principles of

social liberalism Social liberalism (german: Sozialliberalismus, es, socioliberalismo, nl, Sociaalliberalisme), also known as new liberalism in the United Kingdom, modern liberalism, or simply liberalism in the contemporary United States, left-liberalism ...

and advocates for a more federal

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 ...

History

Early history and formation

During the extraordinary congress of the

, its structures were merged with the "European Democrats" association, gathered around a four-member parliamentary group, and formally changed the name of the party to the "Union of European Democrats". Its first president became Elżbieta Bińczycka and Jacek Protasiewicz was elected as vice-president. Former

president of Poland The president of Poland ( pl, Prezydent RP), officially the president of the Republic of Poland ( pl, Prezydent Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej), is the head of state of Poland. Their rights and obligations are determined in the Constitution of Pola ...

Lech Wałęsa Lech Wałęsa (; ; born 29 September 1943) is a Polish statesman, dissident, and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, who served as the President of Poland between 1990 and 1995. After winning the 1990 election, Wałęsa became the first democrati ...

and the chairman of the

Committee for the Defence of Democracy The Committee for the Defence of Democracy, CDD ( pl, Komitet Obrony Demokracji, ''KOD'') is a Polish-born civic organization and NGO which among its goals includes promoting the European values, especially democracy, rule of law, and human ...

Mateusz Kijowski Mateusz Kijowski (born 12 December 1968) is an IT specialist, journalist, social activist, and blogger. Life and activism Born in Warsaw, Poland, Kijowski studied mathematics at the University of Warsaw. He transferred to Faculty of Family Scie ...

spoke at the party's founding conference, and letters were read from former presidents

Bronisław Komorowski Bronisław Maria Komorowski (; born 4 June 1952) is a Polish politician and historian who served as President of Poland from 2010 to 2015. Komorowski served as Minister of Defence from 2000 to 2001. As Marshal of the Sejm, Komorowski exercis ...

and

Aleksander Kwaśniewski Aleksander Kwaśniewski (; born 15 November 1954) is a Polish politician and journalist. He served as the President of Poland from 1995 to 2005. He was born in Białogard, and during communist rule, he was active in the Socialist Union of Pol ...

Elections period (2016–2019)

In January 2018,

Michał Kamiński Michał Tomasz Kamiński (born 28 March 1972) is a Polish politician and a member of the Senate with the Union of European Democrats. He was chairman of the European Conservatives and Reformists in the European Parliament from July 2009 until Ma ...

, a prominent member inside UED, joined the parliamentary club led by the

. Soon after, they established a joint parliamentary club with

Jacek Protasiewicz Jacek Protasiewicz (born 5 June 1967 in Brzeg) is a Polish politician. Graduated from Wroclaw University where in the 80s of 20th century was a leader of anti communist student organization (NZS). In 1995 was an international fellow at the Kett ...

as vice-president, while Kamiński was chosen to be a part of the presidium. Protasiewicz later left to join

Modern Modern may refer to: History * Modern history ** Early Modern period ** Late Modern period *** 18th century *** 19th century *** 20th century ** Contemporary history * Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century Phil ...

. During the 2018 local elections, UED participated with various parties. Shortly before 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 peop ...

, it joined the European Coalition which was established by the

Civic Platform Civic Platform ( pl, Platforma Obywatelska, PO)The party is officially the Civic Platform of the Republic of Poland (''Platforma Obywatelska Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej''). is a political party in Poland. It is currently led by Donald Tusk. It ...

Democratic Left Alliance The Democratic Left Alliance () was a social-democratic political party in Poland. It was formed in 9 July 1991 as an electoral alliance of centre-left parties, and became a single party on 15 April 1999. It was the major coalition party in Pol ...

, and Polish People's Party. UED's candidate was Elżbieta Bińczycka and she obtained 6,540 votes but no seats. During June and July 2019, UED held discussions about joining the

, after which it joined. During the 2019 parliamentary election, UED obtained 29,832 votes and Jacek Protasiewicz was elected as its MP.

Modern period (2020 –present)

During the

2020 presidential election This national electoral calendar for 2020 lists the national/federal elections held in 2020 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *5 January: **C ...

, it supported

Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz Władysław Marcin Kosiniak-Kamysz (born 10 August 1981) is a Polish physician and politician. Since 2015, he has served as the chairman of the Polish People's Party (PSL). From 2011 to 2015, he was Minister of Labor and Social Affairs in the go ...

as candidate of the Polish Coalition. In the second round, UED voiced its support for

Rafał Trzaskowski Rafał Kazimierz Trzaskowski (; born 17 January 1972) is a Polish politician and the current city mayor of Warsaw. He is also a political scientist specializing in European studies. He served as a Member of the European Parliament (2009–2013) ...

Ideology and program

The Union of European Democrats is largely a

and

social-liberal Social liberalism (german: Sozialliberalismus, es, socioliberalismo, nl, Sociaalliberalisme), also known as new liberalism in the United Kingdom, modern liberalism, or simply liberalism in the contemporary United States, left-liberalism ...

party that is positioned in the

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics * Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentri ...

on the political spectrum. It advocates for the

federalisation of the European Union The United States of Europe (USE), the European State, the European Federation and Federal Europe, is the hypothetical scenario of the European integration leading to formation of a sovereign superstate (similar to the United States of America ...

Program

The party program declaration is concerned with the defense of Polish democracy, support for Poland's membership of the

and

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

, and the putative threats to Poland posed by Russia. The UED supports the creation of a

federal Europe The United States of Europe (USE), the European State, the European Federation and Federal Europe, is the hypothetical scenario of the European integration leading to formation of a sovereign superstate (similar to the United States of Americ ...

. The party also advocates civil service reform, the separation of church and state, and the introduction of civil partnerships.

References

{{Authority control 2016 establishments in Poland Centrist parties in Poland Liberal parties in Poland Political parties established in 2016 Political parties in Poland Pro-European political parties in Poland