A real breakthrough - welcome to the European Conservatives and Reformists

Today a new group was formed within the European Parliament called the European Conservatives and Reformists, comprising of 56 MEPs from 9 countries. So much for those who said it would never happen! Now that the group has been formed others will certainly join, leaving the EPP-ED with the security that there is a mainstream, centre-right and viable alternative to go to (one MEP joined in the afternoon after the morning announcement no less!). This is a real breakthrough - there is finally a bloc opposed to federalism and the idea of an 'ever closer union', and committed to reforming Europe so that it does less, is better value for money and is more transparent and accountable.

The 56 MEPs comprise of:

26 British Conservative MEPs;
15 Polish MEPs from the Law and Justice Party;
9 Czech MEPs from the Civic Democratic Party;
1 MEP from Belgium's Lijst Dedecker - Derk Jan Eppink, a Dutchman who is a former senior European Commission official;
1 MEP from Finland's Centre Party, Keskusta is joining the new group (the other Keskusta MEPs sit within the Liberal (ALDE) group);
1 MEP from the Hungarian Democratic Forum - Lajos Bokros, a former finance minister; and
1 MEP from the Latvian National Independence Movement - Roberts Zile, a former finance and transport minister;
1 MEP from the Dutch Christian Union; and
1 MEP from the Lithuanian Electoral Action of Poles.

They have all signed up to the Prague Declaration which adheres to the following principles:

1. Free enterprise, free and fair trade and competition, minimal regulation, lower taxation, and small government as the ultimate catalysts for individual freedom and personal and national prosperity.
2. Freedom of the individual, more personal responsibility and greater democratic accountability.
3. Sustainable, clean energy supply with an emphasis on energy security.
4. The importance of the family as the bedrock of society.
5. The sovereign integrity of the nation state, opposition to EU federalism and a renewed respect for true subsidiarity.
6. The overriding value of the transatlantic security relationship in a revitalised NATO, and support for young democracies across Europe.
7. Effectively controlled immigration and an end to abuse of asylum procedures.
8. Efficient and modern public services and sensitivity to the needs of both rural and urban communities.
9. An end to waste and excessive bureaucracy and a commitment to greater transparency and probity in the EU institutions and use of EU funds.
10. Respect and equitable treatment for all EU countries, new and old, large and small.

Huge credit has to go to William Hague, Mark Francois MP, Timothy Kirkhope MEP, the Leader of the Conservatives in Europe and Geoffrey Van Orden MEP. The Conservatives have delivered on David Cameron's pledge to leave the federalist EPP-ED Grouping. For a group to be constituted in the European Parliament, it must consist of a minimum of 25 MEPs from at least 7 of the 27 EU member states. With 56 MEPs, the new group is sizeable (the fourth largest) and this will have a positive impact on its influence and standing within the European Parliament in terms of resources and positions within committees and the parliament itself.