Rome, 23/02/2004 (Agence Europe) - The meeting held at the headquarters of the Margherita in Rome, called by Francesco Rutelli, allowed for broad convergence of views to be established between the participants on opening up the way to creating a genuinely federalist group at the next European Parliament. The Liberals were present, whose president at the European Parliament, Graham Watson from Britain and representatives from the Italian PPI, French UDF, Belgian CDH and Catalan UDC, do not agree to the abandoning by the European Popular Party of its European convictions or its shift to the right. What did come as a surprise was the participation of the founder of the Polish Civic Platform. Close to the EPP, the main Polish opposition movement in Poland, thought to be the main beneficiary at the next European elections, in reality represents a hugely diverse strain of views on Europe, ranging from those strongly committed to a European constitution and the famous slogan "Nice or death". It is easy to imagine that supporters of the former could, at the end of the elections, join a group that favours the Community method while the latter would find a place within the EPP.
The adoption on 10 March of the amendment to the statute enabling Hans-Gert Pöttering (Germany) to preside over a wider assembling of conservatives, is expected to in the long term lead to the departure of around twenty Christian Democrats and centrists and their joining of a new middle ground party in Parliament that consists of both Liberals and those in the centre. While sharing the same European ideal, members of this group cold take differing positions on social subjects, human rights etc. But this would just prolong a situation that that already exists within the group presided by Mr Watson. Liberals and those on the centre, will all preserve their own identity.
The creation of a new European party of the centre ground, is expected to be announced on 3 March by Romano Prodi and François Bayrout, at a fringe meeting organised by the Liberal group. The party's objectives are expected to be: the adoption of the European constitution; economic governance and reform of the stability pact; development of genuine European foreign policy; increase in the financial resources of the Union, with a ceiling higher than 1% of GNI.
During a press conference at the backdrop of the Greens congress in Rome (see other article), Pierre Jonckheer (Belgium) welcomed the creation of this European centre party and that of a group reuniting the Liberals and those on the centre. He said that it was a scandal that "the policy of the EPP consisted of getting bigger and bigger in order to monopolise all the presidencies of the commission and the other functions at the European Parliament. "I find this unworthy of the democratic life of a parliament", he added.