European Conservatives and Reformists
| European Conservatives and Reformists | |
|---|---|
| European parliamentary group | |
 |
|
| Name | European Conservatives and Reformists |
| English abbr. | ECR |
| French abbr. | ECR |
| Formal name | European Conservatives and Reformists Group |
| Ideology |
Euroscepticism Anti-federalism Conservatism Economic liberalism |
| European parties | Alliance of Conservatives and Reformists in Europe |
| Associated organisations |
Movement for European Reform New Direction |
| From | 22 June 2009 |
| To | present |
| Chaired by | Syed Kamall |
| MEP(s) |
|
| Website | www |
The European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) is a Eurosceptic and anti-federalistpolitical group in the European Parliament. The ECR is the parliamentary group of the Alliance of Conservatives and Reformists in Europe (ACRE) European political party (formerly known as the Alliance of European Conservatives and Reformists), but also includes MEPs from four other European parties and thirteen MEPs without European party affiliation.
The ECR was founded around the Movement for European Reform after the 2009 European elections at the behest of British Conservative Party leader David Cameron. During the Seventh European Parliament (2009–14), the ECR had 55 MEPs, making it the joint fourth-largest group. After the 2014 European elections, the party accepted thirteen new member parties, increasing group membership to 71 MEPs and making it the current third-largest group in the European Parliament.
The group is considered centre-right to right-wing. The largest parties in the group by number of MEPs are the Conservative Party of the United Kingdom and Law and Justice (PiS) of Poland.
The genesis of the ECR dates back to 2005, and possibly earlier. A political group in the European Parliament cannot be officially recognised if it contains MEPs from only a single member state. Instead, it must meet the minimum threshold required by the European Parliament's Rules of Procedure. Any party seeking to create a group must therefore seek partners. The last mixed group in the European Parliament was forcibly dissolved. Since then, groups have been required to demonstrate ideological coherence. This is usually done by publishing a document (sometimes called a constituent declaration) stating the principles to which each group member is expected to adhere. The constituent declaration of the ECR has become known as the Prague Declaration. That document outlines the following principles:
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