European People's Party

The European People's Party (EPP) is a European political party with Christian-democratic,[4] conservative[5][6] and liberal-conservative[4] member parties. A transnational organisation, it is composed of other political parties, not individuals. 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.[6][7][8][9][10] On 20 November 2019 the party elected as its President the former Prime Minister of Poland and President of the European Council, Donald Tusk.[11]

This article is about the political party. For the parliamentary group, see European People's Party group.

European People's Party
PresidentDonald Tusk (PL)
Secretary-GeneralAntonio López-Istúriz White MEP (ES)
Group leaderManfred Weber MEP (DE)
Founded8 July 1976 (1976-07-08)
HeadquartersRue du Commerce/Handelsstraat 10, 1000 – Brussels, Belgium
Think tankWilfried Martens Centre for European Studies
Student wingEuropean Democrat Students
Youth wingYouth of the European People's Party
Women's wingWomen of the European People's Party
IdeologyChristian democracy
Conservatism
Liberal conservatism
Pro-Europeanism[1]
Political positionCentre-right
International affiliationCentrist Democrat International[2]
International Democrat Union[3]
European Parliament groupEuropean People's Party
Colours     Blue
European Parliament
187 / 705
European Council
11 / 27
European Commission
10 / 27
European Lower Houses
2,199 / 9,874
European Upper Houses
569 / 2,714
Website
www.epp.eu
  • Politics of European Union
  • Political parties
  • Elections

The EPP has been the largest party in the European Parliament since 1999 and in the European Council since 2002. It is also the largest party in the current European Commission. The President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen is 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 of Belgium, PNL of Romania, Fine Gael of Ireland, National Coalition Party of Finland, New Democracy of Greece, Forza Italia of Italy, the People's Party (PP) of Spain, the Civic Platform of Poland and the Social Democratic Party of Portugal, but also the right-wing populist Fidesz of Hungary.

History
Logo of European People's Party from 2005 to 2015
From left to right:Tindemans, Bukman and Santer; former presidents of the EPP

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 [which] has pioneered the European project from its inception".[12]

The EPP was founded in Luxembourg on 8 July 1976 on the initiative of Jean Seitlinger; Leo Tindemans, then Prime Minister of Belgium, who became the first President of the EPP; and Wilfried Martens, 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,[13] the Nouvelles Equipes Internationales, founded in 1946[14] (or 1948),[13] and the European Union of Christian Democrats, founded in 1965.[14]

In the late 1990s the Finnish politician Sauli Niinistö 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 six Presidents:

No.ImageNameTenurePartyMember state
1 Leo Tindemans
(1922–2014)		 1976–1985 CD&V Belgium
2 Piet Bukman
(born 1934)		 1985–1987 CDA Netherlands
3 Jacques Santer
(born 1937)		 1987–1990 CSV Luxembourg
4 Wilfried Martens
(1936–2013)		 1990–2013
[Died]		 CD&V Belgium
5 Joseph Daul
(born 1947)		 2013–2019 The Republicans France
6 Donald Tusk
(born 1957)		 2019– Civic Platform Poland


Platform and manifesto
Leo Varadkar, Angela Merkel and Jean-Claude Juncker at an EPP summit in June 2018

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 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
  • 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
  • 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 true common EU energy policy
  • Strengthening European political parties

Electoral manifesto

As a central part of its campaign for the European elections in 2009 the EPP approved its election manifesto at its Congress in Warsaw in April that year. The manifesto called for:

  • Creation of new jobs, continuing reforms and investment in education, lifelong learning, and employment in order 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 to at least 20 per cent 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.
At its Congress in Warsaw in 2009 the EPP endorsed Barroso for a second term as President of the Commission.

The Fidesz-crisis

Controversy over the right-wing politics of the ruling Hungarian Fidesz-leader Viktor Orbán caused a split in the EPP in the run-up of the 2019 European Parliament election.[15] 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 [Fidesz’s] place is not in the European People’s Party".[16] Orbán's campaigns targeting billionaire George Soros[17] and Jean-Claude Juncker[18] carried wide reverberations for Europe questioning the EPP's effort to install its lead candidate Manfred Weber as the next Commission president.[19]

After years of deferring a decision about the Fidesz issue,[20] 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 decided on 20 March 2019 to partially suspend Fidesz membership. According to this, Fidesz is "until further notice" excluded from EPP meetings and internal elections, but remains in the European People's Party group of the European Parliament. Fidesz has not delivered on its earlier promise to leave the EPP in case of a penalty.[21]

In February 2020 the EPP extended the suspension of Fidesz indefinitely.[22]

On 2 April 2020 thirteen parties within the EPP have issued a joint statement aimed at Donald Tusk, asking him to expunge Fidesz from the party.[23] Three days prior to this, the Hungarian parliament passed a law, declaring a state of emergency within Hungary for an indefinite time period and granting Prime Minister Viktor Orbán the right to rule by decree. [24]

Governance

The EPP operates as an international non-profit association under Belgian law according to its by-laws, the Statutes of the European People's Party (Statuts du Parti Populaire Européen), originally adopted 29 April 1976.

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.

President of the EPP Donald Tusk

As of November 2019 the Presidency[25] of the EPP is (Vice Presidents in the order of votes received at the EPP Congress in Zagreb):

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.[26]

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 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, 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.

Reunion Picture at 2011 Summit

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 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[27]

Other activities

The EPP also organises working groups on different issues and 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 "Europarties", is responsible for organising a pan-European campaign for the European elections every five years. According to the Lisbon Treaty, the parties must present candidates for President of the European Commission, but the EPP had already done this by endorsing Jose Manuel Barroso 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 European institutions

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

Overview of the European institutions
OrganisationInstitutionNumber of seats
 European UnionEuropean Parliament
187 / 705
Committee of the Regions
125 / 350
European Commission
10 / 27
European Council
(Heads of Government)
11 / 27
Council of the European Union
(Participation in Government)
11 / 27

European Commission

Following EPP's victory in the 2019 European Parliament election, Ursula von der Leyen was nominated by the EPP as Commission President. 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 European Commissioners.

State Commissioner Portfolio Political party Portrait

Germany		 von der LeyenUrsula von der Leyen President CDU

Latvia		 DombrovskisValdis Dombrovskis Executive Vice President – An Economy that Works for the People Unity

Croatia		 ŠuicaDubravka Šuica Vice President – Democracy and Demography HDZ

Greece		 SchinasMargaritis Schinas Vice President – Promoting the European Way of Life ND

Austria		 HahnJohannes Hahn Commissioner for Budget and Administration ÖVP

Ireland		 HoganPhil Hogan Commissioner for Trade FG

Bulgaria		 GabrielMariya Gabriel Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth GERB

Cyprus		 KyriakidesStella Kyriakides Commissioner for Health and Food Safety DISY

Romania		 VăleanAdina-Ioana Vălean Commissioner for Transport PNL

Hungary		 VárhelyiOlivér Várhelyi Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement EPP

(Independent on the national level, but affiliated with EPP at the EU level)

European Parliament

The EPP has the largest group in the European Parliament: the EPP Group. It currently has 182 Members of 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 11 out of the 27 EU heads of state or government attending the EPP summit meetings in preparation of the European Council (as of Aug 2020):

Member state Representative Title Political party Member of the Council since Portrait
 Austria Sebastian Kurz Chancellor ÖVP 7 January 2020
 Bulgaria Boyko Borissov Prime Minister GERB 7 November 2014
 Croatia Andrej Plenković Prime Minister HDZ 19 October 2016
 Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades President DISY 28 February 2013
 Germany Angela Merkel Chancellor CDU 22 November 2005
 Greece Kyriakos Mitsotakis Prime Minister ND 8 July 2019
 Hungary Viktor Orbán Prime Minister Fidesz 29 May 2010
 Latvia Arturs Krišjānis Kariņš Prime Minister of Latvia Unity 23 January 2019
 Romania Klaus Iohannis President PNL 21 December 2014
 Slovakia Igor Matovič Prime Minister OĽaNO 21 March 2020
 Slovenia Janez Janša Prime minister SDS 13 March 2020

The EPP also has other heads of state or government who do not normally take part in the European Council or EPP summits since that responsibility belongs to the other leaders of their countries: János Áder (Hungary, Fidesz), Sauli Niinistö (Finland, KOK).

National legislatures
Country Institution Number of seats
 Austria National Council
Lower house
71 / 183
Federal Council
Upper house
22 / 62
 Belgium Chamber of Representatives
Lower house
27 / 150
Senate
Upper house
12 / 60
 Bulgaria National Assembly
95 / 240
 Croatia Sabor
55 / 151
 Cyprus House of Representatives
18 / 56
 Czech Republic Chamber of Deputies
Lower house
23 / 200
Senate
Upper house
34 / 81
 Denmark The Folketing
6 / 179
 Estonia Riigikogu
12 / 101
 Finland Parliament
38 / 200
 France National Assembly
Lower house
104 / 577
Senate
Upper house
144 / 348
 Germany Bundestag
246 / 630
 Greece Parliament
158 / 300
 Hungary Országgyűlés
133 / 199
 Ireland Dáil
Lower house
35 / 166
Seanad
Upper house
19 / 60
 Italy Chamber of Deputies
Lower house
106 / 630
Senate
Upper house
65 / 315
 Latvia Saeima
8 / 100
 Lithuania Seimas
31 / 141
 Luxembourg Chamber of Deputies
23 / 60
 Malta House of Representatives
28 / 69
 Netherlands House of Representatives
Lower house
19 / 150
Senate
Upper house
12 / 75
 Poland Sejm
Lower house
131 / 460
Senate
Upper house
42 / 100
 Portugal Assembly of the Republic
84 / 230
 Romania Chamber of Deputies
Lower house
119 / 329
Senate
Upper house
45 / 136
 Slovakia National Council
53 / 150
 Slovenia National Assembly
26 / 90
 Spain Congress of Deputies
Lower house
89 / 350
Senate
Upper house
83 / 265
 Sweden Riksdag
92 / 349

Activities beyond the European Union

In third countries

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

State Representatives Title Political party In power since Portrait
 Norway Erna Solberg Prime Minister Høyre 16 October 2013
 Serbia Aleksandar Vučić President SNS 31 May 2017
 Serbia Ana Brnabić Prime Minister SNS 29 June 2017
 Bosnia and Herzegovina Šefik Džaferović Bosniak Member of the Presidency SDA 20 November 2018

In the Council of Europe

The Group of the EPP in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of 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).[28]

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 on a regular basis 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 (Sweden), and its Vice-Presidents are Consiglio Di Nino (Canada), Vilija Aleknaitė Abramikiene (Lithuania), Laura Allegrini (Italy) and George Tsereteli (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 of the United Kingdom, the Conservative Party of Canada and the Republican Party 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 and the Republican Party of the United States, but now they're members of Conservative Group

From left to right: López-Istúriz, McCain & Martens

Relations with the United States

The EPP has close relations with the International Republican Institute (IRI), an organisation funded by the U.S. government specially to promote democracy and democratisation. The EPP and the IRI cooperate within the framework of the European Partnership Initiative.[29]

The EPP's late President, Wilfried Martens, endorsed Senator John McCain, the Republican nominee for president, in the presidential election in 2008.[30] 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.[31][32]

Global networks

The EPP is the European wing of two global centre-right organisations, the International Democrat Union (IDU) and the Christian Democrat International (CDI).

Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies
Main article: Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies

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). The CES 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 (CSU), the Foundation for Analysis and Social Studies (PP), the Constantinos Karamanlis Institute for Democracy (ND), the Jarl Hjalmarson Foundation (MOD), the Political Academy of the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) and others. During the European Parliament election campaign in 2009 the CES 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 – the late President of the EPP who was also President of the CES – changed its name to Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies or Martens Centre.

The current President of the Martens Centre is former Slovak Prime Minister Mikuláš Dzurinda.

The Budapest-based Robert Schuman Institute 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)
Main article: 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, Nadezhda Neynsky and Bendt Bendtsen.

European Democrat Students
Main article: 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 people[33] 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, 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 different countries. As the officially recognised EPP association of workers, the EUCDW is led by Elmar Brok, MEP. It aims at the political unification of a democratic Europe, the development of the EPP on the basis of 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.

Youth of the European People’s Party
Main article: 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.

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.

A 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
Country Party name Abbr. Legislature lower house seats Legislature upper house Seats Status
 Austria Austrian People's Party
Österreichische Volkspartei		 ÖVP
71 / 183
22 / 61
 Government
 Belgium Christian Democratic and Flemish
Christen-Democratisch en Vlaams		 CD&V
12 / 150
5 / 60
 Government
Humanist Democratic Centre
Centre démocrate humaniste		 cdH
5 / 150
4 / 60
 Opposition
 Bulgaria Citizens for the European Development of Bulgaria
Граждани за европейско развитие на България
Grazhdani za evropeĭsko razvitie na Bŭlgariya		 GERB
95 / 240
 Government
Democrats for a Strong Bulgaria
Демократи за силна България
Demokrati za silna Bălgarija		 DSB
0 / 240
 Extra-parliamentary
Union of Democratic Forces
Съюз на демократичните сили
Sayuz na demokratichnite sili		 SDS
0 / 240
 Extra-parliamentary
Democratic Party
Демократическа партия
Demokraticheska partia		 DP
0 / 240
 Extra-parliamentary
Movement "Bulgaria of the Citizens"
Движение „България на гражданите“
Dvizhenie „Bulgariya na grazhdanite“		 BCM
0 / 240
 Extra-parliamentary
 Croatia Croatian Democratic Union
Hrvatska demokratska zajednica		 HDZ
55 / 151
 Government
 Cyprus Democratic Rally
Δημοκρατικός Συναγερμός
Dimokratikós Sinagermós		 DISY
18 / 56
 Government
 Czech Republic Christian and Democratic Union – Czechoslovak People's Party
Křesťanská a demokratická unie – Československá strana lidová		 KDU–ČSL
10 / 200
15 / 81
 Opposition
TOP 09
7 / 200
2 / 81
 Opposition
 Denmark Conservative People's Party
Det Konservative Folkeparti		 C
13 / 179
 Opposition
Christian Democrats
Kristendemokraterne		 KD
0 / 179
 Extra-parliamentary
 Estonia Pro Patria
Isamaa		 I
12 / 101
 Government
 Finland National Coalition Party
Kansallinen Kokoomus
Samlingspartiet		 KOK
38 / 200
 Government
 France The Republicans
Les Républicains		 LR
104 / 577
146 / 348
 Opposition
 Germany Christian Democratic Union
Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands		 CDU
200 / 709
 Government
Christian Social Union in Bavaria
Christlich-Soziale Union in Bayern		 CSU
46 / 709
 Government
 Greece New Democracy
Νέα Δημοκρατία
Nea Dimokratia		 ND
158 / 300
 Government
 Hungary Christian Democratic People's Party
Kereszténydemokrata Néppárt		 KDNP
16 / 199
 Government
 Ireland Fine Gael FG
35 / 160
16 / 60
 Government
 Italy Forza Italia FI
97 / 630
58 / 321
 Opposition
Union of the Centre
Unione di Centro		 UdC
0 / 630
3 / 321
 Opposition
Popular Alternative
Alternativa Popolare		 AP
0 / 630
0 / 321
 Extra-parliamentary
Populars for Italy
Popolari per l'Italia		 PpI
0 / 630
0 / 321
 Extra-parliamentary
 Latvia New Unity
Vienotība		 JV
8 / 100
 Government
 Lithuania Homeland Union – Lithuanian Christian Democrats
Tėvynės sąjunga – Lietuvos krikščionys demokratai		 TS-LKD
35 / 141
 Opposition
 Luxembourg Christian Social People's Party
Chrëschtlech Sozial Vollekspartei
Parti populaire chrétien social
Christlich Soziale Volkspartei		 CSV/PSC
21 / 60
 Opposition
 Malta Nationalist Party
Partit Nazzjonalista
28 / 67
 Opposition
 Netherlands Christian Democratic Appeal
Christen-Democratisch Appèl		 CDA
19 / 150
9 / 75
 Government
 Poland Civic Platform
Platforma Obywatelska		 PO
119 / 460
43 / 100
 Opposition
Polish People's Party
Polskie Stronnictwo Ludowe		 PSL
20 / 460
2 / 100
 Opposition
 Portugal Social Democratic Party
Partido Social Democrata		 PSD
79 / 230
 Opposition
Democratic and Social Centre – People's Party
Centro Democrático e Social – Partido Popular		 CDS-PP
5 / 230
 Opposition
 Romania National Liberal Party
Partidul Național Liberal		 PNL
82 / 329
31 / 136
 Government
Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania
Romániai Magyar Demokrata Szövetség
Uniunea Democrată Maghiară din România		 UDMR
21 / 329
9 / 136
 Confidence and Supply
People's Movement Party
Partidul Mișcarea Populară		 PMP
16 / 329
5 / 136
 Confidence and Supply
 Slovakia Christian Democratic Movement
Kresťanskodemokratické hnutie		 KDH
0 / 150
 Extra-parliamentary
Most–Híd
0 / 150
 Extra-parliamentary
Party of the Hungarian Community
Magyar Közösség Pártja
Strana maďarskej komunity		 SMK/MKP
0 / 150
 Extra-parliamentary
 Slovenia Slovenian Democratic Party
Slovenska demokratska stranka		 SDS
26 / 90
 Government
Slovenian People's Party
Slovenska ljudska stranka		 SLS
0 / 90
 Extra-parliamentary
New Slovenia–Christian Democrats
Nova Slovenija – Krščanski demokrati		 NSi
7 / 90
 Government
 Spain People's Party
Partido Popular		 PP
89 / 350
97 / 265
 Opposition
 Sweden Moderate Party
Moderata samlingspartiet		 M
70 / 349
 Opposition
Christian Democrats
Kristdemokraterna		 KD
22 / 349
 Opposition

Suspended members

 Hungary

Associate members

 Albania

 North Macedonia

  • Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization – Democratic Party for Macedonian National Unity (VMRO–DPMNE)

 Norway

 Serbia

  Switzerland

Observer members

 Armenia

 Belarus

 Bosnia and Herzegovina

 Finland

 Georgia

 Italy

 Kosovo

 Moldova

 Norway

 San Marino

 Ukraine

Former members

 Belarus

 France

 Croatia

 Italy

 Romania

 Slovakia

 Spain

 Turkey

 Ukraine

Notes
    gollark: One got a sign materialized on it saying "this is downloading lots of data please stop it - SquidDev", one got put in a chest with a sign saying "HELP HELP THIS IS SPAMMING THE CONSOLE - 3d6", one got a sign saying "this causes lag, use setRaw - Lr_".
    gollark: I got roughly that done to THREE computers!
    gollark: SC admins: orbital laser strike initiated.
    gollark: Fake loading screens are the enemy of mankind.
    gollark: Why does it do `sleep` while iterating over the files? That seems like a waste of time.

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    Bibliography
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    • Jansen, Thomas; Van Hecke, Steven (2011). At Europe's Service: The Origins and Evolution of the European People's Party. Springer. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-19414-6. ISBN 978-3-642-19413-9. LCCN 2011927265.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
    • Kaiser, Wolfram (2004). Michael Gehler; Wolfram Kaiser (eds.). Transnational Christian Democracy: From the Nouvelles Equipes Internationales to the European People's Party. Christian Democracy in Europe since 1945. Routledge. pp. 194–208. ISBN 0-7146-5662-3.
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