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New Tory European group risks being held to ransom

By Mark Littlewood
June 22nd, 2009 at 2:47 pm | 1 Comment | Posted in EU Politics

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Cameron’s Tories have found a collection of people to sit with in the European Parliament, but will now be in a group that is smaller – and considerably more marginalised – than the ALDE group headed up by LibDem MEP Graham Watson.

There are two hurdles in forming a recognised group in the European Parliament – to have at least 25 MEPs and to have representation in seven member states. The first of these is simplicity for the Conservatives (they have 26 MEPs of their own), but they have limped over the second hurdle. Other than the Polish Law and Justice Party and the Czech Civic Democrats, the five other parties will be represented by only one MEP each –  from Belgium, the Netherlands, Latvia, Hungary and Finland. It would only require two of these MEPs to walk out for the Conservatives to  lose their group status.

Expect the small parties to use this leverage to maximum political effect – which will involve the various lone MEPs from the Latvian National Independence Movement, the Hungarian Democratic Forum, the Finnish Centre Party, the Dutch Christian Union and the Flemish Lijst Dedecker having their whims and fancies continually indulged by the British Tory block. The Conservatives may well find they have less room for maneouvre then they would have if they’d stayed in the EPP.

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“Who are Cameron’s allies in Europe?” asks Obama

By Mark Littlewood
June 9th, 2009 at 1:13 pm | 9 Comments | Posted in EU Politics, UK Politics

The relationship between the British Tories and the European People’s Party block has been an ongoing obsession for the Eurosceptic wing of the Conservatives and extracting a pledge from Cameron to exit the mainstream centre-right EPP block was – rightly – seen as a big win for the Dan Hannan wing of the party.

But Thursday’s results were something of a triumph for the EPP group and have left the Tories scratching around for possible allies that will allow them to form a viable group without involving too many weird and whacky minority parties.

The usually unflappable Hannan gets a bit hot under the collar on Radio 5 when pressed on what this group might look like and how credible it is (2hrs 40 minutes in). Intriguingly, Dan Hannan backed Obama in the US elections last year, but the new President seems pretty clearly opposed to Tory isolationism.

Don’t make the mistake of believing that the Europe issue is settled within the Tory party. It’s just that the fault line has shifted. The divide is no longer between pro and anti Europeans, but between soft and hard Euroscepticism. If, as seems eminently possible, the Lisbon Treaty is ratified before Cameron becomes Prime Minister, he may abandon plans to hold a referendum in the UK. That could cause havoc in the Tory ranks.

Whatever happens, he is going to be walking a tightrope between keeping his hardliners on side and looking “mainstream” on the international stage.

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