Brussels, 09/12/2004 (Agence Europe) - François Bayrou, President of UDF (Union pour la démocratie française) and Francesco Rutelli, President of Democrazia e Libertà-La Margherita, told reporters on Thursday that they hailed the creation of the European Democratic Party (EDP), whose constituent congress had just been held in Brussels. Messrs Bayrou and Rutelli are joint presidents of the new party, and Romano Prodi is its honorary president. The former president of the European Commission, who is unwell, was unable to attend the congress but gave his assurance over the phone that he does not wish to simply play a "formal" role, Francesco Rutelli said, welcoming the birth of a "young party with a great future". The party, whose main components are the UDF and La Margherita, and whose European members are within the ALDE Group headed by Graham Watson, is formed of the following parties: "Le mouvement des citoyens pour le changement" (Belgium, president Gérard Deprez), Partido nacionalista vasco (Spanish Basque country, president Josu Jon Imaz), Cesta zmeny (Czech Republic, president Iiri Lobkowicz), Darbo partija (Lithuania, president Viktoras Uspaskik), and Neoi Orizontes (Cyprus, president Nicos Koutsou).
Our component at the ALDE Group at the European Parliament has "made a great contribution to changing the political landscape in Parliament and has had a key role in the democratic affirmation of this Parliament", François Bayrou said, alluding to the lead position adopted by the European EDP members in challenging the choice of certain members designated for the Barroso Commission. Francesco Rutelli said they had brought about a change in the position of their group and Parliament as a whole. He predicted the group would grow. In answer to questions on relations with the Liberal component of the ALDE Group and with its president, Graham Watson, Mr Bayrou replied: "I am very interested in a dialogue with the liberals for progress" and "I am personally in favour of the greatest simplification possible in the European political landscape" and "ourselves and the Liberals are extremely complementary". (Ed.: The status adopted by the EDP does not provide for automatic membership by its European members in the ALDE Group). At a general level, Mr Bayrou recalled the reasons for forming the party: - an "orphan" EU without a political project needed a party according to the tradition whereby Christian Democrats and Social Democrats built Europe together, and it was necessary to reaffirm the "validity of the federal model" and "reconcile initiative and solidarity", two terms that today often seem contradictory.
Lithuania was the first EU country to ratify the European Constitution, Mr Rutelli told the press, announcing that the EDP Bureau will be set up in Bilbao on 1 February 2005 to support the campaign for a "yes vote" at the Spanish referendum on 20 February on the European Constitution. In our party, we are in favour of the Constitution, he added, recalling that François Bayrou had, moreover, presented a draft European Constitution during the nineties, and he himself had proposed a referendum fifteen years ago to give the European Parliament a mandate to adopt a Constitution, as Altiero Spinellit had wanted.
Mr Rutelli announced two other initiatives of the Party: - a visit to Sudan, and especially to Darfur on 8 January 2005; - and a seminar with the American Democratic Party, on 24 and 25 February 2005 in Rome.
In answer to questions on Turkey's EU membership, François Bayrou restated his well-known arguments against accession (while Francesco Rutelli simply said that the debate is open and that the Prodi Commission had adopted a "responsible position that opened a way" on this issue. Problems such as Cyprus, the Armenian genocide, and women's rights "demonstrate the cultural and democratic distance" that separates us and Turkey, Mr Bayrou said. He felt that, in these conditions, opening negotiations with Ankara "without saying the outcome could be a preferential partnership would mean giving up the idea of a political Europe with single democracy". Mr Bayrou expressed great shock at hearing (in an interview with several newspapers) Prime Minister Erdogan say it is out of the question for Turkey to recognise the Republic of Cyprus. Mr Bayrou stressed that he is not raising the question of Turkey's EU membership from the "religious angle" and would, for example, be in favour of a Muslim country like Bosnia, which is European, belonging to the EU, "when the time comes".
On the subject of Ukraine, Mr Bayrou welcomed the fact that "for once, Europe has spoken with a single voice" in this crisis. He felt that, if Kiev so wishes and if democracy is reaffirmed, "it would be interesting to reflect on the possibility of suggesting that Ukraine become a preferential partner".