ECR Group formed in the EU Committee of the Regions

A new group formed yesterday and officially announced today in the Committee of the Regions will champion an agenda of decentralising power closer to the local and regional people.

The European Conservatives and Reformists Group will be formally recognised today at the opening of the Committee of the Regions’ 100th plenary session. It contains representatives of seven EU Member States (the Czech Republic, Finland, Greece, Lithuania, Slovakia and the UK). 27 Members have joined the group so far, including the Mayor of Prague.

The new ECR Group sees the extension of the ECR Alliance, which continues to grow with 54 MEPs from ten countries, two Prime Ministers in the European Council, and a successful think tank, New Direction.

Launching the group at the Alliance of European Conservatives and Reformists’ headquarters in Brussels, ACER Secretary General Daniel Hannan said that it will champion localism, encouraging decisions to be made closer to those affected by them.

Daniel Hannan said: “The European Conservatives and Reformists alliance is growing, and the new Group in the Committee of the Regions will deliver an agenda based on the assumption that individuals and communities should make decisions over their daily lives, not centralised elites.

Cllr Gordon Keymer CBE FCA, the acting Chairman of the new group, said: “The new group will be a breath of fresh air in the Committee of the Regions and will strengthen its links with the European Parliament.”

Oldrich Vlasak MEP, Vice-President of the European Parliament and ECR group regional spokesman, said: “Establishing a new group in the Committee of the Regions will now ensure the ECR’s agenda is firmly represented by an extremely talented and dedicated team. We will now work to grow the new Group.”

Martin Callanan MEP, Chairman of the European Conservatives and Reformists group in the European Parliament, said: “I am delighted that we continue to grow the ECR family. We are clearly established on the political map, and we will continue to go from strength to strength as our agenda strikes a chord with voters and taxpayers crying out for a change in direction of the EU.”