Europe of Freedom and Democracy
Europe of Freedom and Democracy ( EFD, French abbreviation: ELD ) which is a group in the European Parliament, the parties to the Eurosceptic conservative nationalist and populist right-wing spectrum. It was founded after the European elections in 2009 and comprises mainly the British United Kingdom Independence Party ( UKIP ) and the Italian Lega Nord and several smaller parties. With a total of 34 MPs it is - in addition to the European United Left - the smallest fraction of the Parliament. Group leaders are Nigel Farage ( UKIP ) and Francesco Speroni ( Lega Nord).
The EFD is the de facto successor to the Independence and Democracy Group (Ind / Dem), but you also belong to parties that / had been to the previously non-members of Ind. After the 2009 European elections had the Ind / Dem members alone is no longer the necessary number of MEPs to form their own group; However, for several right-wing and eurosceptic parties were first elected to parliament. After then some Ind / Dem members of the newly formed European Conservatives and Reformists had joined UKIP and succeeded to win the Northern League, various right-wing small parties for the establishment of a new Eurosceptic group. This was given on 1 July 2009 at a press conference. After the founding of the Group of the Austrian Freedom Party announced their interest in participating in it, but this was rejected by various group members. German MPs are not represented in the Group; but the EFD held relations with the constituency association citizens in anger.
The EVS was initially worn by any European party. At the beginning of the election period included two members of Libertas, four MPs of the Alliance for a Europe of the Nations ( AEN ), however, both parties presented their work shortly after the constitution of Parliament. The UKIP member Godfrey Bloom was in autumn 2010 together founding member of the European Alliance for Freedom, but later joined in from the EVS. Finally, most members of the Group in 2011 involved in the founding of the Movement for a Europe of freedom and democracy.
Due to their heterogeneity is the EFD, although the smallest of all groups in the European Parliament, also the one with the lowest party discipline. Only in almost half of all votes in the legislature since 2009, the members voted closed while all other groups do this in about 80% of cases (as of April 2011).
Members of the Group
The first fraction had 32 members. On 18 January 2010 Nikki Sinclaire occurred ( UKIP ) because of conflicts with the Group Chairman Nigel Farage from June 23, 2010, Mike Nattrass ( UKIP ), for which the fraction is not clear enough represented the outlet of Great Britain from the EU. In March 2011, also left the Danish MEP Anna Rosbach ( DF), EVS, to join the ECR Group. A few weeks later came out Trevor Colman ( UKIP ). In May 2011, also joined David Campbell Bannerman, UKIP of the Conservative Party and thus into the ECR Group. Thus, the group had only 27 members in the summer of 2011.
In November 2011, the former Vlaams Belang MEP Frank Vanhecke joined the Group in December 2011, the former deputy Magdi Allam UDC. On 26 December 2011, the four members of the Solidarna Polska, a spin-off of the Polish PiS to EFD were about. In addition, the British MEP Roger Helmer said in early March his conversion to UKIP and the EFD Group. On December 11, 2012 Slawtscho Binew joined the group. This had been elected on the list of Bulgarian Ataka and later founded his own party People for Real, Open and United Democracy. Likewise, Mike joined the Group in Natrass again.
In June 2013, two members of the Northern League from the Group came out. In September 2013 Godfrey Bloom left and again Mike Nattrass UKIP and the EFD Group. The EFD Group comprises so currently playing 31 delegates from twelve countries (as of February 13, 2014 ):