| European Conservatives | |
|---|---|
| European Parliament group | |
| Name | European Conservatives |
| English abbr. | C[1] |
| Formal name | European Conservative Group[1][2] |
| Ideology | Conservatism[3] |
| Political position | Centre-right |
| From | 16 January 1973[4] |
| To | 17 July 1979[4] |
| Succeeded by | European Democratic Group |
| Chaired by | Kent S. Kirk,[5][6] Geoffrey Rippon[6] |
| MEP(s) | 63 (7 July 1979) |
TheEuropean Conservative Group was aconservativepolitical group that operated in theEuropean Parliament between 1973 and 1979. At its height in July 1979, it had 63MEPs.
On 1 January 1973 the Community enlarged for the first time to includeDenmark,Republic of Ireland and theUnited Kingdom. The BritishConservative Party and DanishConservative People's Party formed their own group called the European Conservative Group on 16 January 1973.[1][4]
In the ensuing years, the group collected additionalcentre-right members, and on 17 July 1979[4] it changed its name to the "European Democratic Group".[2][7]
In March 2009 it was reported that the European Conservatives could be re-created as a group in the European Parliament, led by the British Conservative Party if they withdraw from the European People's Party–European Democrats (EPP-ED) group and succeed in meeting the minimum requirements for a political group in the Parliament.[8][9]
On 22 June 2009, the British Conservative Party with their colleagues launched theEuropean Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group.[10]
| Country | Name | Ideology | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 United Kingdom | Conservative Party | Conservatives | One-nation conservatism Liberal conservatism | |
 Denmark | Conservative People's Party | DKF | Liberal conservatism Social conservatism | |