Europe of Freedom and Democracy
Europe of Freedom and Democracy (EFD) was a Eurosceptic political group in the European Parliament. The group was formed following the 2009 European parliamentary election, mostly composed of elements of the Independence/Democracy (IND/DEM) and Union for a Europe of Nations (UEN) groups that had existed during the 6th European Parliament. The group had a loose relationship with Movement for a Europe of Liberties and Democracy (MELD), a European political party founded in 2011.
| Europe of Freedom and Democracy | |
|---|---|
| European Parliament group | |
Europe of Freedom and Democracy Group logo | |
| Name | Europe of Freedom and Democracy |
| English abbr. | EFD |
| French abbr. | ELD |
| Formal name | Europe of Freedom and Democracy Group |
| Ideology |
|
| Political position | Right-wing to far-right |
| European parties | Movement for a Europe of Liberties and Democracy |
| From | 1 July 2009 (de facto) |
| To | 24 June 2014 |
| Preceded by | Independence/Democracy |
| Succeeded by | Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy |
| Chaired by | Nigel Farage (UKIP) Francesco Speroni (LN) |
| MEP(s) | 34 |
| Website | www |
The EFD was a coalition of ten political parties – the largest being the UK Independence Party (UKIP) with eleven seats and the Italian Lega Nord, with nine seats – along with one independent. The EFD is hostile to further European integration, and more nationalistic and anti-immigration than its main predecessor IND/DEM. The EFD was considered to belong on the right-wing to far-right of the political spectrum.
On 24 June 2014 EFD group became Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy (EFDD) for the 8th European Parliament, with the continuing membership of just two of the eleven political parties that formed EFD.