Strasbourg, 14/04/2000 (Agence Europe) - As foreseen, a certain number of member of the European People's Party in the European Parliament (fifty odd) created on Thursday in Strasbourg the "Schuman group" so as to "work together, beyond the only national solidarity's, to give the EPP's central message strength and clarity." "For the European People's Party, the entrenching at the centre does not only belong to the past.
It is also the key to its future", states the group, formed of French, Italian, Dutch, and Luxembourg MEPs with some Spanish including José Maria Gil-Robles and very few Germans including Elmar Brok. According to the members of the "Schuman Group", it is "necessary to redirect the action of the EPP in depth" at the European Parliament in order to "create the base for a political debate which is not reduced to just a game between national delegations, setting aside all temptation to compromise with extremists, and affirming the humanist and social dimension of their project, defending a demanding and ambitious conception of reform of European institutions and making the EPP a force for positive and constructive proposals within Parliament".
"Our fist value, is the human individual", state the members of the new group, who plan to fight against racism, xenophobia and all forms of intolerance, and to fight for respect of cultural differences. "Our project of society is based on the social market economy principle", they continue, noting that "our societies are opulent but remain unjust" and that it is a matter of "recreating an authentic culture of solidarity". "Our priority ambition is to build a political Union with a federal and decentralised objective, which constitutes and must remain an essential element of the EPP's democratic project", say the members of the group, adding: "Sharing responsibilities between the Union and the Member States must be clarified. European powers must be democratic (…) The European citizens have the right to know everything about how power is shared out and used in Europe. They have the right to know their institutions and to directly participate in the life of these institutions. In order to become a democracy, Europe deserves a Constitution". Finally, the members of the Schuman Group announce: "We plan to make a demanding concept of democracy prevail. All complacency towards extremist parties must be countered. Our fundamental values presuppose not only the respect of human rights (…) but also the establishment of new political participation mechanisms with decentralisation of powers, the consultation of social partners and the recognition of the associative world and the civil society".