The European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group in the European Parliament has grown to 83 members after a second round of admissions on Wednesday 19 June.
At the group’s meeting in Brussels, the ECR officially welcomed 12 newly elected members: - Kristoffer Storm of the Danish Democrats Party (Danmarksdemokraterne); - Ivaylo Valchev of the Bulgarian party ‘There is such a people’ (Има такъв народ, ITN); - Aurelijus Veryga of the Lithuanian Farmers and Greens Union party (Lietuvos valstiečių ir žaliųjų sąjunga); - Claudiu-Richard Tarziu, Gheorghe Piperea, Maria-Georgiana Teodorescu, Adrian-George Axinia, and Serban Dimitrie Sturdza, of the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (Alianţa pentru Unirea Românilor, AUR); - France’s Marion Maréchal, Guillaume Peltier, Laurence Trochu and Nicolas Bay. Expelled from the Reconquête! party (see EUROPE 13431/26), these MEPs have said that they are forming a new conservative party.
With 83 members, the group has overtaken the liberal Renew Europe group to become the third largest force in the European Parliament. However, Renew Europe could also welcome new members, including the MEPs of the Belgian party Les Engagés and Volt party (see EUROPE 13428/1). (Original version in French by Anne Damiani)