10/05/2004 (Agence Europe) - The Italian Liberal Francesco Rutelli, the leader of Margherita, met the French centrist François Bayrou in Paris on 9 May, for the occasion of Europe Day. This meeting is part of the rapprochement between Liberals and Centrists, with a view to the creation of a new group within the next European Parliament, to be elected in June. There have been several meetings since 20 February in Rome, with the participation of the President of the Liberal Group, the Briton Graham Watson. The creation of the group has the support of Romano Prodi. In an interview with the daily newspaper Le Monde, Mr Bayrou continues to plead in favour of the creation of a "large democratic party which is neither conservative nor socialist", but with the exception of a few small configurations such as Italy's PPI and UDC (formerly a part of the EPP), most parties which could join the new group are already members of the ELDR party.