The Group of European Progressive Democrats was a heterogeneous political group with seats in the European Parliament

European Parliament

The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...

 between 1973 and 1984.

History

The French Gaullists

Gaullist Party

In France, the Gaullist Party is usually used to refer to the largest party professing to be Gaullist. Gaullism claimed to transcend the left/right rift...

 split from the Liberal Group on 21 January 1965 and created a new Group called the "European Democratic Union". The Group was renamed on 16 January 1973 to the "Group of European Progressive Democrats" when the Gaullists were joined by the Irish Fianna Fáil

Fianna Fáil

Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party , more commonly known as Fianna Fáil is a centrist political party in the Republic of Ireland, founded on 23 March 1926. Fianna Fáil's name is traditionally translated into English as Soldiers of Destiny, although a more accurate rendition would be Warriors of Fál...

, and renamed itself again on 24 July 1984 to the "Group of the European Democratic Alliance".

The group was never a close alliance. In 1973, the only common platform was on the issues of regionalism, social policy and the Common Agricultural Policy

Common Agricultural Policy

The Common Agricultural Policy is a system of European Union agricultural subsidies and programmes. It represents 48% of the EU's budget, €49.8 billion in 2006 ....

. Fianna Fáil

Fianna Fáil

Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party , more commonly known as Fianna Fáil is a centrist political party in the Republic of Ireland, founded on 23 March 1926. Fianna Fáil's name is traditionally translated into English as Soldiers of Destiny, although a more accurate rendition would be Warriors of Fál...

, an Irish nationalist party, was reluctant to identify too closely with the Gaullists, who also had an alliance with the Conservative Party

Conservative Party (UK)

The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...

 of the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 at the time.

MEPs at 17 July 1979

Member state	MEP Member of the European Parliament A Member of the European Parliament is a person who has been elected to the European Parliament. The name of MEPs differ in different languages, with terms such as europarliamentarian or eurodeputy being common in Romance language-speaking areas.When the European Parliament was first established,... s	Party	MEP Member of the European Parliament A Member of the European Parliament is a person who has been elected to the European Parliament. The name of MEPs differ in different languages, with terms such as europarliamentarian or eurodeputy being common in Romance language-speaking areas.When the European Parliament was first established,... s	Notes
France France The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...	15	Défence des Intérêts de la France en Europe/Rassemblement pour la République Rally for the Republic The Rally for the Republic , was a French right-wing political party. Originating from the Union of Democrats for the Republic , it was founded by Jacques Chirac in 1976 and presented itself as the heir of Gaullism...	15	Vincent F.M. Ansquer, Jean-José Clement, Pierre-Bernard Cousté, Gustave Deleau, Eugène L. Remilly, Marie-Madeleine Dienesch, Louise Weiss, Michel J.-P. Debré, Maurice S.R.C. Druon, Pierre Messmer, Jacques Chirac, Claude L.L.P. Labbé, Alain Y.M. Gillot, Hubert Jean Buchou, Christian De La Malène
Ireland Ireland Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...	5	Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party , more commonly known as Fianna Fáil is a centrist political party in the Republic of Ireland, founded on 23 March 1926. Fianna Fáil's name is traditionally translated into English as Soldiers of Destiny, although a more accurate rendition would be Warriors of Fál...	5	Sile De Valera, Jerry Cronin, Noel Michael Davern, Seán Flanagan, Patrick Joseph Lalor
United Kingdom United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...	1	Scottish National Party Scottish National Party The Scottish National Party is a social-democratic political party in Scotland which campaigns for Scottish independence from the United Kingdom....	1	Winifred M. Ewing Winnie Ewing Winifred Margaret 'Winnie' Ewing is a Scottish nationalist, lawyer and prominent SNP politician who was formerly a Member of Parliament , Member of the European Parliament and Member of the Scottish Parliament...
Denmark Denmark Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...	1	Fremskridtspartiet Progress Party (Denmark) The Progress Party is a political party in Denmark, which was founded in 1972. Its founder, the former lawyer Mogens Glistrup, gained huge popularity in Denmark after he appeared on Danish television, showing that he paid 0 % in income tax...	1	Kai Nyborg

Sources

• Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung

• "Political Data Handbook: OECD Countries", ISBN 019828053X, Jan-Erik Lane, David McKay, Kenneth Newton 1997
• Europe Politique
• European Parliament MEP Archives
• Centre Virtuel de la Connaissance sur l'Europe (CVCE) via European NAvigator
  European NAvigator
  European NAvigator was the former name of the digital library on the history of European integration and related institutions. The research project is now online at www.cvce.eu, a website dedicated to European integration studies....
  
  
• Danish Demographic Database, part of the Danish State Archives
  Danish State Archives
  Danish State Archives is a Danish culture institution, whose primary purpose is to collect, preserve and archive historically valuable records and make them available to the public...
  
  
• 1999 Election website for Jan Sturm, a candidate for the June Movement
  June Movement
  The June Movement was a Danish eurosceptic political organisation founded 23 August 1992. It took its name from the referendum on the Maastricht Treaty that took place in Denmark in June of that year...
  
  
• Website of the Danish June Movement
  June Movement
  The June Movement was a Danish eurosceptic political organisation founded 23 August 1992. It took its name from the referendum on the Maastricht Treaty that took place in Denmark in June of that year...
  
  
• Website of the Danish Progress Party
  Progress Party (Denmark)
  The Progress Party is a political party in Denmark, which was founded in 1972. Its founder, the former lawyer Mogens Glistrup, gained huge popularity in Denmark after he appeared on Danish television, showing that he paid 0 % in income tax...