Brussels, 21/02/2014 (Agence Europe) - The Alliance of European Conservatives and Reformists Parties (AECR) has said that it will not be putting forward a candidate to lead the European campaign - a candidate who could claim the presidency of the European Commission, should the AECR win. The AECR believes that the process being followed by the main European political parties is “lacking in public support and legal authority”. “To participate would be to legitimise the idea that a European executive should be chosen by a federal legislature. Yet federalism has no treaty basis, nor any backing from the electorates”, the AECR says in a press release. A poll was published to accompany the AECR's announcement. The poll was conducted by ComRes in the six largest member states and found that the majority of European citizens believe that their country has already ceded too much power to the EU, that Brussels is out of touch and that the EU is moving in the wrong direction. (MB/transl.fl)