Logo of European People's Party from 2005 to 2015President Manfred Weber, 2022 Rotterdam EPP CongressFrom left to right:Tindemans,Bukman andSanter, former presidents of the EPPBonn EPP Congress in 2009
According to its website, the EPP is "the family of the political centre-right, whose roots run deep in the history and civilisation of the European continent, and [which] has pioneered the European project from its inception".[11]
In the late 1990s, the Finnish politicianSauli Niinistö negotiated the merger of theEuropean Democrat Union (EDU), of which he was president, into the EPP. In October 2002, the EDU ceased its activities after being formally absorbed by the EPP at a special event in Estoril, Portugal. In recognition of his efforts, Niinistö was elected Honorary President of the EPP the same year.
During its Congress in Bucharest in 2012, the EPP updated its political platform after 20 years (since its Congress in Athens in 1992) and approved apolitical manifesto in which it summarised its main values and policies.[14][failed verification]
The manifesto highlights:
Freedom as a central human right, coupled with responsibility
Respect for traditions and associations
Solidarity to help those in need, who in turn should also make an effort to improve their situation
Promotion of the family, improvements in education and health
Strengthening of the common immigration and asylum policy, and integrating immigrants
Continuation of enlargement of the EU, enhancement of theEuropean Neighbourhood Policy and special relationship frameworks for countries that cannot, or do not want to, join the EU
As a central part of its campaign for theEuropean elections in 2009, the EPP approved its election manifesto at its Congress in Warsaw in April that year. The manifesto called for:[15]
Creation of new jobs, continuing reforms and investment in education,lifelong learning, and employment to create opportunities for everyone.
Avoidance of protectionism, and coordination of fiscal and monetary policies.
Increased transparency and surveillance in financial markets.
Increasing the share ofrenewable energy to at least 20 percent of the energy mix by 2020.
Family-friendly flexibility for working parents, better child care and housing, family-friendly fiscal policies, encouragement of parental leave.
A new strategy to attract skilled workers from the rest of the world to make Europe's economy more competitive, more dynamic and more knowledge-driven.
At its Congress in Warsaw in 2009 the EPP endorsed Barroso for a second term as President of the Commission.
After years of deferring a decision about the Fidesz issue,[24] the EPP was eventually compelled to address the problem two months before the 2019 European elections, as 13 outraged member parties requested the Hungarian party's exclusion from the EPP due to its billboard campaign featuring Jean-Claude Juncker. 190 of the 193 EPP delegates supported the common agreement with Fidesz on 20 March 2019 to partially suspend its membership. According to it, Fidesz was "until further notice" excluded from EPP meetings and internal elections, but remained in theEuropean People's Party Group of theEuropean Parliament. Fidesz did not deliver on its earlier promise to leave the EPP in case of a penalty.[25]
In February 2020, the EPP extended the suspension of Fidesz indefinitely.[26]
On 2 April 2020, thirteen parties within the EPP issued a joint statement aimed at Donald Tusk, asking him to expunge Fidesz from the party.[27] Three days before this, the Hungarian Parliament had passed a law, declaring a state of emergency within Hungary, granting Prime Minister Viktor Orbán the right to rule by decree.[28]
On 3 March 2021, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán announced that Fidesz would leave the EPP group after it changed its internal rules (to allow suspension and expulsion of multiple deputies and their groups), although Fidesz remained a suspended member of the EPP itself.[29] On 18 March 2021, Fidesz decided to leave the European People's Party.[30]
In April 2023, Belgian police and German investigators carried out a raid at the EPP headquarters in Brussels as part of an investigation in Germany.[36]
Within the EPP there are three kinds of member organisations: full members, associate members and observers. Full members are parties from EU states. They have absolute rights to vote in all the EPP's organs and on all matters. Associate members have the same voting rights as full members except for matters concerning the EU's structure or policies. These associate members are parties from EU candidate countries andEFTA countries. Observer parties can participate in all the activities of the EPP, and attend the Congresses and Political Assemblies, but they do not have any voting rights.
Special status of "supporting member" is granted by the Presidency to individuals and associations. Although they do not have voting rights, they can be invited by the President to attend meetings of certain organs of the party.
The EPP also includes a number of individual members, although, as most other European parties, it has not sought to develop mass individual membership.[43]
Below is the evolution of individual membership of the EPP since 2019.[44]
The EPP is governed by the EU Regulation No 1141/2014 on European Political Parties and European Political Foundations and its operations are supervised by the EU Authority for European Political Parties and European Political Foundations.
The Presidency is the executive body of the party. It decides on the general political guidelines of the EPP and presides over its Political Assembly. The Presidency is composed of the President, ten Vice-Presidents, the Honorary Presidents, the Secretary General and the Treasurer. The Chairperson of the EPP Group in the European Parliament, the Presidents of the Commission, the Parliament and the Council, and theHigh Representative (if they are a member of an EPP member party) are allex officio Vice-Presidents.
The Political Assembly defines the political positions of the EPP between Congresses and decides on membership applications, political guidelines and the budget. The Political Assembly is composed of designated delegates from EPP member parties, associated parties, member associations, and other affiliated groups. The Political Assembly meets at least three times a year.
The Congress is the highest decision-making body of the EPP. It is composed of delegates from member parties, EPP associations,EPP Group MEPs, the EPP Presidency, national heads of party and government, and European Commissioners who belong to a member party, with the numbers of delegates being weighted according to the EPP's share of MEPs, and individual delegates being elected by member parties according to member parties' rules.[46]
Under the EPP's statutes, the Congress must meet once every three years, but it also meets normally during the years of elections for the European Parliament (every five years), and extraordinary Congresses have also been summoned. The Congress elects the EPP Presidency every three years, decides on the main policy documents and electoral programmes, and provides a platform for the EPP's heads of government and party leaders.
As a registered European political party, the EPP is entitled toEuropean public funding, which it has received continuously since 2004.[47]
Below is the evolution of European public funding received by the EPP.
In line with the Regulation on European political parties and European political foundations, the EPP also raisesprivate funds to co-finance its activities. As of 2025, European parties must raise at least 10% of their reimbursable expenditure from private sources, while the rest can be covered using European public funding.[b]
Below is the evolution of contributions and donations received by the EPP.[48][49]
EPP leaders meet for the EPP Summit a few hours before each meeting of theEuropean Council in order to formulate common positions. Invitations are sent by the EPP President and attendees include, besides the members of the EPP's presidency, all Presidents and Prime Ministers who are members of the European Council and belong to the EPP; the Presidents of theEuropean Parliament, theEuropean Commission and theEuropean Council, as well as theHigh Representative for Foreign Affairs, provided that they belong to the EPP; Deputy Prime Ministers or other ministers in those cases where the Prime Minister of a country does not belong to an EPP member party; and, where no EPP member party is part of a government, the leaders of the main EPP opposition party.
Following the pattern of the EPP Summit the party also organises regular EPP Ministerial meetings before each meeting of theCouncil of the European Union, with ministers, deputy ministers, secretaries of state andMEPs in the specific policy field attending:
The EPP also organises working groups on different issues on anad hoc basis, as well as meetings with its affiliated members in theEuropean Commission. It also invites individual Commissioners to the EPP Summit meetings and to EPP Ministerial meetings.
Following amendments to the EU Regulation that governs European political parties in 2007, the EPP, like the other European parties, was responsible for organising a pan-European campaign for theEuropean elections every five years. According to theLisbon Treaty, the parties must present candidates forPresident of the European Commission, but the EPP had already done this by endorsingJosé Manuel Barroso for a second term in April 2009.
The year 2014 saw the first fully-fledged campaign of the EPP ahead of theEuropean elections of that year. The party nominated former Luxembourgish Prime MinisterJean-Claude Juncker as its candidate for President of the European Commission and led a pan-European campaign in coordination with the national campaigns of all its member parties.
The EPP has the largest group in theEuropean Parliament: theEPP Group. It currently has 182 Members in the European Parliament and its chairman is the German MEPManfred Weber.
In every election for the European Parliament candidates elected on lists of member parties of the EPP are obliged to join the EPP Group in the European Parliament.
The EPP Group holds five of the fourteen vice-presidencies of the European Parliament.
The Group of the EPP in the Parliamentary Assembly of theCouncil of Europe defends freedom of expression and information, as well as freedom of movement of ideas and religious tolerance. It promotes the principle of subsidiarity and local autonomy, as well as the defence of national, social, and other minorities. The EPP/CD Group is led byDavor Ivo Stier, a member of theCroatian Democratic Union.
The "EPP and like-minded Group" in the Parliamentary Assembly of theOrganization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is the most active political group in that body. The Group meets regularly and promotes the EPP's positions. The members of the EPP Group also participate in the election-monitoring missions of the OSCE.
The EPP is also present and active in the Parliamentary Assembly of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and forms the "EPP and Associated Members" Group there. It is led by the GermanCDU politician Karl Lamers, who is also the current President of the Assembly. The Group also included members of theConservative Party of Canada and theRepublican Party of the United States, but now they are members of theConservative Group
From left to right: López-Istúriz, McCain & Martens
The EPP has close relations with theInternational Republican Institute (IRI), an organisation funded by the U.S. government especially to promote democracy and democratisation. The EPP and the IRI cooperate within the framework of the European Partnership Initiative.[57]
In 2014, to honourWilfried Martens – the late President of the EPP who also founded the CES – changed its name to Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies or simplyMartens Centre.
The current President of the Martens Centre is former Slovak Prime MinisterMikuláš Dzurinda.
The Budapest-basedRobert Schuman Institute and the Luxembourg-based Robert Schuman Foundation are also affiliated with the European People's Party.[citation needed]
SME Europe is the official business organisation of the EPP and serves as a network for pro-business politicians and political organisations. Its main objective is to shape EU policy in a more SME-friendly way in close cooperation with the SME Circle of the EPP Group in the European Parliament, theDG Enterprise and the pro-business organisations of the EPP's member parties. Its top priorities are to reform the legal framework for SMEs all over Europe and to promote and support the interests of small and medium-sized enterprises. SME Europe was founded in May 2012 by three Members of the European Parliament,Paul Rübig,Nadezhda Neynsky, andBendt Bendtsen.
European Democrat Students (EDS) is now the official students' organisation of the EPP, though it was founded in 1961, 15 years before the EPP itself. Led by Virgilio Falco, EDS has 40 member organisations, representing nearly 1,600,000 students and young people[61] in 31 countries, including Belarus andGeorgia. Every year EDS hosts Summer and Winter "universities", and several seminars. It also regularly publishes a magazine,Bullseye, and organises topical campaigns.
Founded inMadrid in 1995 and led byAn Hermans of theCD&V, theEuropean Seniors' Union (ESU) is the largest political senior citizens' organisation in Europe. The ESU is represented in 27 countries with 34 organisations and about 500.000 members.
The European Union of Christian Democratic Workers (EUCDW) is the labour organisation of the EPP, with 24 member organisations in 18 countries. As the officially recognised EPP association of workers, the EUCDW is led byDennis Radtke,MEP. It aims at the political unification of a democratic Europe, the development of the EPP based on Christian social teaching, and the defence of workers' interests in European policy-making.
The Women of the European People's Party (EPP Women) is recognised by the EPP as the official association of women from all like-minded political parties of Europe. EPP Women has more than 40 member organisations from countries of the European Union and beyond. All of them are women's organisations of political parties that are members of the EPP. EPP Women is led byDoris Pack.
The Youth of the European People's Party (YEPP), led by Lídia Pereira, is the EPP's official youth organisation. It has 64 member organisations, bringing together between one and two million young people in 40 countries.
^For the purpose of European party funding, "contributions" refer to financial or in-kind support provided by party members, while "donations" refer to the same but provided by non-members.
^Independent on the national level but affiliated with EPP at the EU level
^Makszimov, Vlagyiszlav (4 March 2021)."Fidesz coalition partner MEP stays in EPP Group".EURACTIV. Retrieved25 March 2021.KDNP is Fidesz's junior coalition partner, considered a satellite party by many.
^Herholz, Alexander (26 February 2012)."Sanctions on Hungary: What For and Why Now?".Fair Observer. Retrieved25 March 2021.With a two-thirds majority, the nationalist conservative party, Fidesz, and its satellite party, KDNP, have complete authority to do anything.
^Batory, Agnes (17 June 2010)."Election Briefing No. 51: Europe and the Hungarian parliamentary elections of 2010"(PDF). European Parties Elections and Referendums Network. Retrieved25 March 2021.Its close ally, perhaps best described as a satellite party, is the Christian Democratic People's Party (KNDP), which ran (as it did in 2006) on a joint list with Fidesz.
^Hertner, Isabelle (9 September 2018). "United in diversity? Europarties and their individual members' rights".Journal of European Integration.41 (4). Routledge:487–505.doi:10.1080/07036337.2018.1513500.
Kaiser, Wolfram (2004). "Transnational Christian Democracy: From the Nouvelles Equipes Internationales to the European People's Party". In Michael Gehler; Wolfram Kaiser (eds.).Christian Democracy in Europe since 1945. Routledge. pp. 194–208.ISBN0-7146-5662-3.
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