European liberals and the renaissance coalition of French President Emmanuel Macron want to form a common political group in the European Parliament. Representatives of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats in Europe (Alde) and Renaissance met on Saturday to reaffirm that goal, the FDP said on their website.
Renaissance is the name of the election list of Macron's party La République en Marche for the European elections. It also includes the conservative party Agir and the liberal party MoDem. Renaissance initially did not respond to a request.
Before the elections of the European Parliament from May 23 to 26, Macron tries to rekindle the idea of Europe. "We must not be sleepwalkers in a slack Europe," he said at the opening of the election campaign. FDP leader Christian Lindner recently appealed that the polling should not be a "protest election", but must be a "design choice". He does not share every suggestion of Macron, "but welcome the constructive contribution to the renewal of Europe".
New faction wants to accommodate like-minded people
Alde and Renaissance are ready to take after the European elections, other like-minded parties in the faction, it said in the statement of the FDP on. The joint group will be a new force in the European Parliament and end the current factional coalition of social and Christian Democrats, so the FDP hope: "Together we have a clear reform agenda for Europe."
As a signatory to the MoU, the FDP named the following parties and movements: Ciudadanos (Spain), D66 (Netherlands), FDP (Germany), Momentum (Hungary), MR (Belgium), NEOS (Austria), Renaissance (France) and VVD (Netherlands ).