The Group for the Technical Coordination and Defence of Independent Groups and Members was a mixed 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 1979 and 1984.

History

The Technical Group of Independents was formed in 1979. It was officially called "Group for the Technical Coordination and the Defence of Independent Groups and Members" and it used the abbreviation "CDI". It was a coalition of parties ranging from centre to far left, which were not aligned with any of the major international party federations. In 1984 most of the CDI members joined the "Rainbow Group".
The group was a rather diverse alliance and this was reflected in its chairs which included the Italian Radical Marco Pannella

Marco Pannella

Giacinto Pannella, better known as Marco Pannella is an Italian politician.He is the historic leader of the Italian Radicals...

, the hardline Irish Republican

Irish Republicanism

Irish republicanism is an ideology based on the belief that all of Ireland should be an independent republic.In 1801, under the Act of Union, the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland merged to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...

 Neil Blaney

Neil Blaney

Neil Terence Columba Blaney was a senior Irish politician. He was first elected to Dáil Éireann in 1948 as a Fianna Fáil Teachta Dála representing Donegal East. Blaney served as Minister for Posts and Telegraphs , Minister for Local Government and Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries...

 and Danish left-wing Eurosceptic

EuroSceptic

EuroSceptic is the second album of British singer Jack Lucien. It was released in October 2009.Due to being an album influenced by Europop, it features songs with parts in different languages...

 Jens-Peter Bonde

Jens-Peter Bonde

Jens-Peter Rossen Bonde is a former Member of the European Parliament with the June Movement. He resigned as an MEP in May 2008. Bonde was elected to the European Parliament in the first election in 1979 with the People's Movement against the EU. He has been re-elected 6 times consecutively...

.

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
Belgium Belgium Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...	1	Volksunie People's Union (Belgium) People's Union was a Belgian political party, formed in 1954 as a successor to the "Christian Flemish People's Union", an electoral alliance of Flemish nationalists....	1	Maurits Coppieters Maurits Coppieters Maurits Coppieters , Belgian politician for the Volksunie, member of the Belgian Chamber , the Belgian Senate and the European Parliament ....
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...	1	Independent Fianna Fáil Independent Fianna Fáil Independent Fianna Fáil was a splinter republican party created by Neil Blaney after his expulsion from Fianna Fáil following the Irish Arms Crisis . It ceased to exist on 26 July 2006...	1	Neil Blaney Neil Blaney Neil Terence Columba Blaney was a senior Irish politician. He was first elected to Dáil Éireann in 1948 as a Fianna Fáil Teachta Dála representing Donegal East. Blaney served as Minister for Posts and Telegraphs , Minister for Local Government and Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries...
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...	4	People's Movement against the EEC People's Movement against the EU The People's Movement against the EU is a political association in Denmark against the European Union. It was founded in 1972 as a cross-party campaign platform for a 'no' vote in Denmark's referendum on EEC membership...	4	Else Hammerich, Jens-Peter Bonde Jens-Peter Bonde Jens-Peter Rossen Bonde is a former Member of the European Parliament with the June Movement. He resigned as an MEP in May 2008. Bonde was elected to the European Parliament in the first election in 1979 with the People's Movement against the EU. He has been re-elected 6 times consecutively... , Sven Skovmand, Jørgen Bøgh
Italy Italy Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...	5	Proletarian Unity Party Proletarian Unity Party The Proletarian Unity Party was a political party in Italy.-Origins:The PdUP was founded in the November 1972 by minority factions of two parties, the socialist Italian Socialist Party of Proletarian Unity , led by Vittorio Foa, and Silvano Miniati, and the Catholic left Political Movement of...	1	Luciana Castellina
		Proletarian Democracy Proletarian Democracy Proletarian Democracy was a political party in Italy.-1970s:DP was founded in 1975 as a joint electoral front of the Proletarian Unity Party , Workers Vanguard and the Workers Movement for Socialism...	1	Mario Capanna Mario Capanna Mario Capanna is an Italian politician and writer.-Biography:Born in Città di Castello, he studied Philosophy at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan, and was the leader of the Italian students' movement in the late 1960s and early 1970s...
		Radical Party	3	Marco Pannella Marco Pannella Giacinto Pannella, better known as Marco Pannella is an Italian politician.He is the historic leader of the Italian Radicals... , Emma Bonino Emma Bonino Emma Bonino is an Italian politician, former Member of the European Parliament and current Member of the Italian Senate. She is a leading member of the Italian Radicals, a political party that supports economic and social libertarianism, and human rights... , Leonardo Sciascia Leonardo Sciascia Leonardo Sciascia was an Italian writer, novelist, essayist, playwright and politician. Some of his works have been made into films, including Open Doors and Il giorno della civetta .- Biography :Sciascia was born in Racalmuto, Sicily...

Sources

• 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....