The EPP: In Their Own Words

It's a well known fact that the overwhelming majority of Conservative Party members support the party's immediate exit from the pro-federalist European People's Party grouping in the European Parliament.

Yesterday's reports of the treatment of Swedish Eurosceptic Dr Lars Wohlin at the hands of the leadership of EPP group on this and Daniel Hannan MEP's excellent blog once again prove the urgency with which the Conservative Party must withdraw from the alliance.

Beyond the petty and vindictive nature of the EPP's leadership towards anyone who so much as questions le grand projet (which, in itself, is a reason for us to leave), the policy positions espoused by the group differ from those of the British Conservatives in the same way as night differs from day.  Scratch below the surface - or rather spend ten minutes on the EPP website's own internal search engine – and you will find abundant proof of the ideological mismatch between the British Conservatives and the wider EPP group.

POLITICAL ISSUES

• "The EPP favours a federal Europe based on subsidiarity"
• "The EPP is committed to making its own contribution to the process of bringing EU policies closer to the people... We expect our member parties to give much more prominence to the European dimension in both their internal debates and electoral campaigning"
• "The EPP-ED Group has worked consistently and successfully to consolidate the European Union on the bases of the primacy of law... The EPP-ED Group is the political centre in Europe"
• "The EU needs to continue streamlining its decision-making practices and its institutional balance. The guiding idea in this endeavour can only be a federalist one"

EUROPEAN CONSTITUTION

• "In January 2001, the EPP called for a Convention to elaborate a Constitutional Treaty for the EU. At the Estoril Congress of October 2002, the EPP presented its ideas for a “Constitution for a Strong Europe”. Many of these ideas became part of the Draft Treaty because the EPP played a major role within the Convention. Our ambition was to shape the new Constitutional Treaty"
• "The EPP is convinced that it was the right decision to draft a Constitutional Treaty as a 27 new basis for the European Union... our citizens want a strong Europe and they want Europe to deliver an added value and to deal with the problems that concern them"
• "The national framework alone is no longer in a position to be able to guarantee the common good of all European citizens in all its aspects... that is why the EPP supports a European Constitution"
• "The EU must first and foremost be seen as a constitutional union based on common values. This means that the limits of the Union are not by nature geographical, economical or political, but that membership of the EU is more related to accepting a common constitution"

FOREIGN POLICY

• "Right from the beginning the EPP-ED Group has actively participated in the setting up of the European Security and Defence Policy... it will remain one of the driving forces of this process aiming at establishing a Security and Defence Union with joint defence forces and a common arms policy"
• "[We support the introduction of] a High representative for the Common Foreign and Security policy responsible for the EU's external relations and actions, backed by a European diplomatic service" 
• "EU Member States should reflect on the best way to be represented in the structures of the various international organisations. The EPP favours a single EU representation wherever possible, and certainly in those organisations responsible for issues falling under the Union's competences. Where a single representation is not possible, the Member States should pledge to coordinate their position"

ECONOMIC POLICY

• "Cohesion - the reduction of economic and social disparities between European regions - is a fundamental objective of the Union. Not only do these disparities hamper the functioning of the internal market and the EMU, and slow the growth rate and competitiveness of the EU as a whole, but they are also incompatible with the solidarity that underpins the movement of European integration"
• "Company law today is essentially based on national legislation, which varies widely. The EPP favours new initiatives for common rules on company law aimed at creating a level playing field for European companies"
• "[The EPP welcomes moves to] accelerate work towards a common EU corporate tax base, despite resistance from some Member States"

AGRICULTURE

• "Our Group [the EPP], and particularly its members in the Agriculture Committee, has been able to support the Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) through reports adopted in the European Parliament"
• "The Common Agricultural Policy represents much more than a producer sector. The EPP-ED Group is convinced that the CAP is vital for our future".

JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS

• "A safer Union requires above all a strengthened justice and police co-operation through the establishment of a single and coherent institutional framework integrated into the Community structure and covering all areas related to justice and home affairs" 
• "The EPP has promoted actions such as the European Arrest Warrant"
• "The European Union cannot have 27 immigration policies... The EPP family believes that we must move away from a virtual Europe in this area; instead we must, step-by-step, find common criteria, structures and instruments to address the phenomenon of immigration"