European Conservatives and Reformists Party
The European Conservatives and Reformists Party (ECR Party), formerly known as Alliance of European Conservatives and Reformists (AECR) (2009–2016) and Alliance of Conservatives and Reformists in Europe (ACRE) (2016–2019), is a conservative, soft Eurosceptic European political party with a main focus on reforming the European Union (EU) on the basis of Eurorealism, as opposed to total rejection of the EU (anti-EU-ism).
European Conservatives and Reformists Party | |
|---|---|
| President | Giorgia Meloni |
| Vice Presidents | Jorge Buxadé Radosław Fogiel |
| Secretary-General | Antonio Giordano |
| Founded | 1 October 2009 |
| Split from | European People's Party Union for Europe of the Nations |
| Preceded by | Movement for European Reform |
| Headquarters | Rue du Trône 4, 1000 Brussels, Belgium |
| Think tank | New Direction |
| Youth wing | European Young Conservatives |
| Ideology |
|
| Political position | Right-wing[A] |
| International affiliation | International Democracy Union |
| European Parliament group | European Conservatives and Reformists |
| Colours | Blue |
| European Parliament | 56 / 705 |
| European Council | 2 / 27 |
| European Commission | 1 / 27 |
| European Lower Houses | 1,015 / 9,874 |
| European Upper Houses | 324 / 2,714 |
| Website | |
| ecrparty | |
^ A: The party also has centre-right and far-right factions. | |
The political movement was founded on 1 October 2009, after the creation of the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) political group of the European Parliament. It was officially recognised by the European Parliament in January 2010.
ECR Party is governed by a board of directors who are elected by the Council, which represents all ECR member parties. The executive board is composed of the President Giorgia Meloni (Prime Minister of Italy), Vicepresident Jorge Buxadé (Spanish Member of the European Parliament), and Vicepresident Radosław Fogiel (Polish member of the Parliament).
The party is affiliated with the European Conservatives and Reformists Group in the European Parliament, the pan-European think tank New Direction – The Foundation for European Reform, and the youth organisation the European Young Conservatives. It is also formally associated with the European Conservatives and Reformists Group in the Committee of the Regions, in the Congress of the Council of Europe, and in the NATO Parliamentary Assembly. In the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the ECR Party forms the European Conservatives Group and Democratic Alliance with the Identity and Democracy Party.