Political groups of the European Parliament

The European Parliament stands out among the existing supranational institutions by the fact that it - is not along national groups, but ideological factions organized - as well as a national parliament. These groups in the European Parliament are made up of MEPs along with similar political views.

In general, the fractions from the European political parties form. However, the membership lists do not correspond completely, because often several European parties form a common group (eg, the European Green Party with the European Free Alliance or the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party and the European Democratic Party). In addition, in several fractions non-party deputies are represented.

Requirements for the formation of a group

The constitution, as a group brings the deputies several advantages, in particular further financial assistance and additional rights, such as the parliamentary representation in the committees of the European Parliament or the possibility of draft resolutions.

The requirements to form a group in the European Parliament are laid down in Article 30 of the Rules of Procedure of the European Parliament. Accordingly, at least 25 MEPs from at least one quarter (ie seven) of the Member States required; no Member may be a member of two different fractions. If a faction in the course of a legislature be smaller due to the escape of members, so they can keep the group status further, if she still has members from at least one-fifth (ie six) of the Member States and previously existed at least one year as a fraction.

Until the 2009 European elections, only 19 MEPs from a fifth of the Member States to form a political group were required. However, these requirements have been extended on the initiative of the two largest political groups (EPP -ED and PES) after the formation of the right-wing faction ITS in 2007. This tightening of requirements should hinder the formation of left - and right-wing factions.

In addition, fractions must have a common ideological orientation, it can therefore be no " mixed" or "technical" groups could unite through which non-attached MEPs for the purpose to secure the privileges of the group status without actually work together. Such a mixed group existed until 2001, but was then dissolved by a judgment of the European Court of Justice. Whether the parties to a fraction actually represent a common belief, however, is not considered by the Parliament's Bureau as a rule. Only when the group members deny their political affiliation itself, this can be a reason for the dissolution of the group.

Organization of the fractions

In the European Parliament the party discipline is much less pronounced than in most national parliaments in the EU. This causes it traditionally often leads to a non-uniform voting behavior within the groups, since about individual MEPs or national groups differ from the behavior of the majority faction. However, the uniformity within the groups since the extension of powers and the " professionalization " of Parliament has increased significantly in the nineties.

( Is the most "President ", " coordinator " or " spokesman " called ) Each group appoints a group chairman, who represents the views of the Group externally. The boards of directors of the various fractions, together with the President of the European Parliament, the so-called " Conference of Presidents " who 's designs include the agenda of Parliament sessions.

Many fractions are based on one or more European parties, such as the EPP or the Group of the Greens / EFA. However, virtually all political groups have also members who are at the European level without a party.

In those fractions which are composed of several European parties, there is usually still own working groups, each consisting of the representatives of the same party Europe. Below the Group level, the elected representatives are organized mostly in national delegations, each comprising the members of a national party. The Heads of Delegation are usually the top candidates of each party in the European elections.

Currently, existing groups in the European Parliament

Since the European elections in 2009 following Parliament's political groups exist (as of October 4, 2013 ):

Members from Germany and Austria can be found in the following groups:

• EPP: 42 seats (34 CDU, CSU 8 )
• S & D: 23 seats (SPD )
• Greens / EFA: 14 seats ( Green )
• ALDE: 12 seats ( FDP)
• GUE / NGL: 8 seats ( Left )

• EPP: 6 seats ( ÖVP)
• S & D: 4 seats (SPO )
• Greens / EFA: 2 seats ( Green )
• ALDE: 1 seat ( Angelika Werthmann, formerly MARTIN )
• Non-attached: 5 seats (2 FPÖ, MARTIN 1, 2 non-party - formerly MARTIN and AAF )

Coalitions

Since the European Parliament - unlike national parliaments - selects no government in the traditional sense, the juxtaposition of the government coalition and opposition factions is here less pronounced. Instead of confrontation exists between the major parties is a broad consensus. Also has never yet a single fraction provided an absolute majority in the European Parliament; However, there was always a majority of 50-70 % for the " grand coalition " of the conservative Christian Democratic EPP- ED and the Social Democratic SPE. Therefore, these fractions dominate traditional events in the European Parliament. By 1999, the Social Democrats were the largest fraction, since the EPP- ED.

This informal grand coalition is reinforced by the institutional arrangements of the EU law: As members of the European Parliament (not the present ) in the ordinary legislative procedure for the adoption of a resolution on second reading in each case an absolute majority of the elected necessary, in Parliament in fact only the EPP and PES jointly organize the necessary majorities. Smaller coalitions would have to do it that regularly participate in almost all members of the coalition parties in the plenary meetings, which is hardly possible in parliamentary life.

A clear indicator of the grand coalition is also their agreement to split the five-year mandate of the President of Parliament, so that Parliament is conducted for each of the half of the legislature of a Social Democrat and for the other half of an EPP member. However, the grand coalition is not formalized as before, there is neither a contract nor a firm joint coalition " government program ". In the daily work of the European Parliament decisions are therefore, also because of the absence of coercion fraction, continue to be taken with changing majorities in different factions, though almost always from a compromise between the EPP and PES.

The practice of the grand coalition is criticized by members of the smaller groups, in particular by the Liberals and Greens. During the legislative period 1999-2004, it came as a result of the corruption scandal surrounding the Santer Commission, at a fraction of the grand coalition and cooperation between the EPP and the Liberals. When discussing the appointment of Rocco Buttiglione to Justice Commissioner in 2004, EPP and the Liberals, however, distanced from each other again, so that - in spite of the differences between the EPP and PES - ultimately led to a new informal " grand coalition ". Prior to the 2009 European elections announced Graham Watson, the leader of the Liberals, his goal to participate in the next legislature with his group to a stable coalition with EPP or PES. However, the election result was not such a " small coalition ", since neither the EPP and ALDE still PES and ALDE alone have a majority.

History

• (Post) communists and socialists, GUE / NGL
• Social Democrats, S & D
• Green / regionalists (1984-1994 "Rainbow " ), the Greens / EFA
• Green (without regionalists, 1989-1994)
• "Technical" group (1979-1984, 1999-2001)
• Non-attached
• Liberal, ALDE
• Radical Alliance (1994-1999)
• Christian Democrats, EPP
• Forza Europe (1994-1995)
• Conservative (1979-1992, since 2009), ECR
• Eurosceptics, EFD
• Gaullists, National Conservative (1979-2009)
• Extreme right-wing (1984-1994)

The first three groups already formed in the early days after the founding of the European Parliament in 1952. This was the Socialist Group (now the Progressive Alliance of Socialists, S & D), the Christian Democratic Group (now EVP) and the Liberal and Allies ( from the ELDR Party emerged that part of the ALDE Group is today). Official member of Parliament they were in 1953 with the adoption of the first order. An important point to note here was the election of the first President of Parliament. The Belgian Paul -Henri Spaak declared his readiness to run for president against Heinrich von Brentano only under the condition that all socialist representatives agreed at the meeting closed for him. This has increased the formation of groups, which also later Spaak also promoted in his role as president.

In the further development of parliament created new factions. National Conservative Gaullist deputies from France came out in 1965 from the Liberal Group, and founded the Group of the European Democratic Union (not to be confused with the Christian Democrat - Conservative party alliance EDU, founded in 1978). These continued to exist under different names and with different member parties and formed the core of the UEN, which existed until 2009. A special case was the Italian party Forza Italia, the 1994/95 several months own faction called Forza Europe formed before they first the UEN and 1999 EPP joined.

Following the accession of Denmark and Great Britain created in 1973 the Conservative Group, the 1979 in the Group of the European Democrats ( ED) renamed itself and from 1992 to 2009, united with the EPP to EPP- ED Group. After the 2009 European elections, the ED parties withdrew from this joint group and founded together with former members of the UEN Group of European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR).

1973 was also the first time a Communist group in the European Parliament. This 1989 split into two fractions, one of which was, however, dissolved in 1993 after its Italian member party, the SPE joined. The remaining fraction formed after several name changes, finally, the core of today's European Left Party ( EL). Following the accession of Finland and Sweden in 1995, the Scandinavian left parties formed an alliance own ( the Nordic Green Left ), which, however, a fraction communion with the EL was received ( European United Left / Nordic Green Left ).

1984 also formed the so- called "rainbow " fraction between the European Greens and various regional parties which had joined forces in the European Free Alliance (EFA ) to advocate for a stronger political decentralization. 1989 were the Greens, however, from this alliance and formed their own faction. The remaining members of the " rainbow " closed in 1994 along with a group of French and Italian leftist parties that had split off from the ELDR Group, on the " Radical Alliance". 1999 broke this radical liberal group, however: while the regional parties of the EFA again a common fraction with the Greens joined (The Greens / European Free Alliance in the European Parliament), the left-liberal parties returned to the ELDR Group. In 2004, she founded, however, a separate European Party ( EDP), which now forms the ELDR formally a parliamentary group called the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe ( ALDE).

1984 was also the first time a far-right group in the European Parliament, Group of the European Right. This proved to be unstable, since the mutual nationalistic reservations of its members made ​​it difficult to cooperation with representatives of the other states. In order to stand out from the supranational cooperation and to emphasize the purely pragmatic character of the Alliance, the group named in 1989 in Technical Group of the European Right to; In 1994, she broke completely. 2007, there was a new attempt to establish a right-wing faction under the name of the Identity, Tradition, Sovereignty (ITS ), but broke up after only a few months.

In 1994 a Eurosceptic group was founded in the European Parliament for the first time, which resulted after several transformations and name changes in today's Europe of Freedom and Democracy Group ( EFD).

From 1979 to 1984, and from 1999 to 2001 also exist so-called "technical" or " mixed" fractions. This included MPs from different political currents, which follow no other faction, but did not want to forego the advantages of group status. This corresponds to the parliamentary practice of some European countries, is not permitted by the Rules of Procedure of the European Parliament. A ruling by the European Court of Justice, the Technical Group of Independent Members were therefore abolished in 2001.

The following table lists the distribution of seats in the European Parliament by political groups (absolute numbers and percentages ) since 1979, at the beginning and end of the legislature.