Independence/Democracy
Template:Short description Template:EngvarB Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox European Parliament group
Independence/Democracy (IND/DEM) was a Eurosceptic<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="PhinnemoreMcGowan2013">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Thorlakson2013">Template:Cite book</ref> political group that operated in the European Parliament between 2004 and 2009. At its height in 2004, it had 37 MEPs and it only existed during the European Parliament's 6th term. It was affiliated with the Eurosceptic Europeans United for Democracy party.
Ideologically, IND/DEM was strongly opposed to the European Union and positioned on the radical right within the right-wing spectrum.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> It was a very heterogeneous grouping;<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> it also included parties such as the UK Independence Party, Greek Popular Orthodox Rally, French Movement for France, League of Polish Families, and Lega Nord. After the 2009 European Parliament election, IND/DEM lost many of its MPs and was dissolved in favour of the Europe of Freedom and Democracy (EFD). In comparison, EFD was far-right<ref name=":1">Roy H. Ginsberg, Demystifying the European Union: The Enduring Logic of Regional Integration, p. 170, Rowman & Littlefield, 2010, Template:ISBN</ref><ref name=":2">Rob Ford, Matthew J. Goodwin, Voting for Extremists, passim, Taylor & Francis, Template:ISBN</ref> group that was nationalist and more strongly opposed immigration than IND/DEM.<ref name="PhinnemoreMcGowan20132">Template:Cite book</ref>
HistoryEdit
The 2004 European Parliament elections were reported as a good result for Eurosceptic parties.<ref name="BBCN01">Eurosceptics storm the citadel, BBC News Online report dated Monday, 14 June 2004, 18:01 GMT</ref><ref name="IHT20040615">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }} Template:Dead link</ref> 37 MEPs (33<ref name="Europarl20040720EN">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> on 20 July, with four<ref name="Europarl20040721EN"/> more the next day) from the UK Independence Party (UKIP), June Movement (Denmark), Movement for France (France), Northern League (Italy), ChristianUnion – Reformed Political Party (Netherlands), Popular Orthodox Rally (Greece), June List (Sweden), Independent Democrats (Czech Republic), the League of Polish Families (Poland) and an Independent MEP from the Republic of Ireland, joined in the first week of the new Parliament to form the Eurosceptic group called "Independence/Democracy" (IND/DEM), succeeding the group called "Europe of Democracies and Diversities" (EDD) that had existed during the European Parliament's 1999–2004 term.
In the first week, IND/DEM assigned a UKIP MEP to the Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality. The MEP, Godfrey Bloom, promptly made comments including "No self-respecting small businessman with a brain in the right place would ever employ a lady of child-bearing age" and "I am here to represent Yorkshire women who always have dinner on the table when you get home. I am going to promote men's rights." The remarks engendered outrage from a range of fellow politicians.<ref name="BBC3912205">UKIP MEP in row over working women, BBC News Online report dated Wednesday, 21 July 2004, 11:22 GMT</ref>
One UKIP MEP never made it to IND/DEM. MEP Ashley Mote was expelled from UKIP<ref name="Times459309">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> prior to IND/DEM's formation<ref name="BBC3899969">UKIP suspends fraud trial Euro MP, BBC News Online report dated Friday, 16 July 2004, 11:47 GMT</ref> when it became known that he faced charges for housing benefit fraud.<ref name="Times459309"/> Mote went on to join the far-right Identity, Tradition, Sovereignty group before being convicted in 2007.<ref name="Times2279582">British MEP convicted for benefit fraud, Times, 17 August 2007Template:Dead linkTemplate:Cbignore </ref>
The Northern League MEPs eventually all left the group after their expulsion from IND/DEM following an incident involving a T-shirt and the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy.<ref name="EUO21153">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> MEPs from the League of Polish Families also left the group, although not all and not all at once.<ref name="EUO21153"/><ref name="EUO23095">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> <ref name="PM20051219">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
After having been suspended from UKIP following his arrest on fraud allegations,<ref name="BBC7467318">MEP arrested on fraud allegation, BBC News Online report dated Saturday, 21 June 2008, 13:21 GMT</ref> MEP Tom Wise left IND/DEM in June 2008.
By 24 June 2008, IND/DEM had 22 MEPs.<ref name="EPINDDEM"/>
After the 2009 European Parliament elections, 18<ref name="EU2009EU27">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> IND/DEM MEPs from four Member States were elected for the 2009–2014 term (the Seventh European Parliament). The great majority of these seats (thirteen) were from the UK Independence Party, with others being two from the ChristianUnion – Reformed Political Party of the Netherlands, two from the Popular Orthodox Rally of Greece, and one from Libertas France. But that didn't meet the threshold laid down in the European Parliament's Rules of Procedure.<ref name="Rule3020090701">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Rule2920090406">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> So when the Seventh European Parliament started on 14 July 2009, IND/DEM would not qualify as a group.
On 30 June 2009, it was reported the remnants of IND/DEM were to unite with the remnants of another collapsing group, Union for a Europe of Nations (UEN), to create a new group whose official name was not yet determined.<ref name="EUO28394">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
On 1 July 2009 a press conference was held launching the new group.<ref name="EUO28403"/><ref name="BBCN8129312"/><ref name="ID556">"EU-Critical Group in European Parliament launches" Template:Webarchive, 1 July 2009, from http://indemgroup.eu Template:Webarchive</ref> That press conference named the new group Europe of Freedom and Democracy.<ref name="EUO28403">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="BBCN8129312">Template:Cite news</ref> IND/DEM had ceased to exist.
StructureEdit
SubgroupsEdit
IND/DEM was a coalition of MEPs from two distinct wings of Euroscepticism: a reformist subgroup (sometimes referred to as Eurorealists) made up of those MEPs who believed that the EU was essentially desirable if reformed and who supported greater transparency and control over the EU bureaucracy, and a secessionist subgroup consisting of those MEPs (notably UKIP<ref name="PERSSON2007">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>) who believed that the EU was inherently wrong even if reformed and who advocated withdrawal from the EU.<ref name="CWU01"/><ref name="CRSRS21998">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
OrganisationEdit
IND/DEM had a joint political leadership. The group's co-chairs were Nigel Farage<ref name="ID8">Independence/Democracy Group in the European Parliament: Our Members Template:Webarchive</ref> (UKIP) and Hanne Dahl,<ref name="ID8"/> the latter succeeding Kathy Sinnott,<ref name="ID8"/> who in turn succeeded long-time MEP Jens-Peter Bonde (June Movement) on his retirement in May 2008. Farage represented the secessionist subgroup, and Sinnott the reformist subgroup. The leadership was loose, enabling the two subgroups to unite around the broad principles of democracy and transparency<ref name="PERSSON2007"/> which were embodied in its statute and to which IND/DEM MEPs were expected to adhere.<ref name="ID16">Independence/Democracy Group in the European Parliament: Program Template:Webarchive</ref> The day-to-day running of the group was performed by its secretariat, and its secretaries-general were Claudine Vangrunderbeeck and Herman Verheirstraeten.<ref name="ID7">Independence/Democracy Group in the European Parliament: Staff Template:Webarchive</ref>
MembershipEdit
11 June–1 July 2009Edit
| Template:Legend Template:Legend Template:Legend Template:Legend Template:Legend Template:Legend Template:Legend Template:Legend |
After the 2009 European Parliament elections, 18<ref name="EU2009EU27"/> IND/DEM MEPs (too few for a viable group) were elected as follows:
| Country | Name | Ideology | MEPs | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Template:Flag | style="background:Template:Party color"| | UK Independence Party<ref name="EU2009UK">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
UKIP | Right-wing populism British nationalism |
Template:Composition bar |
| Template:Flag | style="background:Template:Party color"| | Libertas France<ref name="EU2009FR">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
Libertas | Populism Euroscepticism |
Template:Composition bar |
| Template:Flag | style="background:Template:Party color"| | Christian Union–SGP<ref name="EU2009ND">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
CU–SGP | Christian democracy Euroscepticism |
Template:Composition bar |
| Template:Flag | style="background:Template:Party color"| | Popular Orthodox Rally<ref name="EU2009GR">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
LAOS | Religious conservatism Right-wing populism |
Template:Composition bar |
24 July 2008–11 June 2009Edit
IND/DEM member parties as of 24 July 2008 were as follows:
| Country | Name | Ideology | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Template:Flag | style="background:Template:Party color"| | UK Independence Party | UKIP | Right-wing populism British nationalism |
| Template:Flag | style="background:Template:Party color"| | Movement for France | MPF | Conservatism French nationalism |
| Template:Flag | style="background:Template:Party color"| | Christian Union–SGP | CU–SGP | Christian democracy Euroscepticism |
| Template:Flag | style="background:Template:Party color"| | Popular Orthodox Rally | LAOS | Religious conservatism Right-wing populism |
| Template:Flag | style="background:Template:Party color"| | June Movement | JB | Euroscepticism Social liberalism |
| Template:Flag | style="background:Template:Party color"| | June List | jl | Euroscepticism Populism |
| Template:Flag | style="background:Template:Party color"| | Independent Democrats | NEZDEM | Euroscepticism Populism |
| Template:Flag | style="background:Template:Party color"| | League of Polish Families | LPR | National conservatism Political Catholicism |
Membership by country at December 2007Edit
| Template:Legend Template:Legend Template:Legend Template:Legend Template:Legend Template:Legend Template:Legend Template:Legend |
A December 2007 European Parliament document considered the groups. Page 9 of that document had a table. That table gave the number of MEPs for each group and member state at December 2007. That table's data for IND/DEM is depicted as percentages in the diagram on the right.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Such support for IND/DEM as was expressed came from Northern European states, with especial reference to the member states of the North-West. Its strongholds were Sweden and Denmark, who sent "June list" MEPs from June List and June Movement to the Parliament, and the United Kingdom, with 13% of its MEPs at December 2007 coming from UKIP and sitting with IND/DEM. As of December 2007 no member state had more than 13% of its MEPs sitting with IND/DEM and eighteen member states (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain) had none.
Membership at formation at 20–23 July 2004Edit
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The IND/DEM MEPs at 20–23 July 2004 were as follows:
ActivitiesEdit
In the newsEdit
Activities performed by IND/DEM in the period between 1 June 2004 and 1 June 2008 that resulted in an entry on Google News include:
- seeking to allow Parliament to be filmed;
- criticising EC President Barroso for taking a cruise on a yacht owned by Spiro Latsis prior to the Commission giving a Latsis shipyard a grant of €10 million;<ref name="IHT20041012">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="DV199382">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- trying to get a European Parliament auditor's report on alleged abuses of staff allowances published;<ref name="AFX4698634">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}Template:Dead linkTemplate:Cbignore</ref><ref name="AD20080311">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- opposing the appointment of Rocco Buttiglione as Justice Commissioner;<ref name="CNN20041027">Barroso defends delay in EU vote, CNN, 27 October 2004 Template:Webarchive</ref>
- arguing against the Constitution Treaty,<ref name="Times515432">EU's poll data 'propaganda': Millions are to be spent on promoting the constitution among member states, Times, 17 February 2005Template:Dead linkTemplate:Cbignore </ref><ref name="Times445493">Leaders plan for a robust constitution as remedy to voter apathy, Times, 15 June 2004Template:Dead linkTemplate:Cbignore </ref><ref name="Times504641">They don't like the EU constitution? Quick, send in the force, Times, 21 January 2005Template:Dead linkTemplate:Cbignore </ref><ref name="PD195396">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- arguing against the Lisbon Treaty,<ref name="PM20080116">MEPs: Kosovo and Lisbon treaty should top EU agenda, PM, 16 January 2008 Template:Webarchive</ref><ref name="EA164921">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="OJ20051220">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="CI8861">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- arguing against a deeper Europe;<ref name="Times443424">Many tongues, now some teeth, Times, 10 June 2004Template:Dead linkTemplate:Cbignore </ref>
- expelling Lega Nord and the League of Polish Families;<ref name="IN06N05525">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="WZ223993">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="VN3D47809">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- arguing against the two-person Presidency,<ref name="PM20070115">Bonde calls for ‘election not coronation’ in EU parliament vote, PM, 15 January 2007 Template:Webarchive</ref><ref name="PM20070112">Wurtz urges sea change in EU parliament elections, PM, 12 January 2007 Template:Webarchive</ref>
- arguing against the two-seat Parliament,<ref name="PM20060615">Strasbourg 'spinelessness' angers EU deputies, PM, 15 June 2006 Template:Webarchive</ref><ref name="TR350163">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- arguing against attempts to fund plans to improve EP turnout;<ref name="PM20071127">MEPs outline plans to boost EU parliament election turnout, PM, 27 November 2007 Template:Webarchive</ref>
- arguing for greater control of the commission by Parliament,<ref name="EA156620">Parliament strengthens its control over the Commission, EA, 11 September 2006 Template:Webarchive</ref>
- arguing for decentralisation,<ref name="EGOV8610">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- arguing for mandatory lobbying disclosure,<ref name="ZDNET2050619">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- supporting whistleblower Hans-Peter Martin.<ref name="TT20040613">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Parliamentary activity profileEdit
Template:Legend
The debates and votes in the European Parliament are tracked by its website<ref>Plenary sitting – Home. Europarl.europa.eu. Retrieved on 7 September 2013.</ref> and categorised by the Groups that participate in them and the rule of procedure that they fall into. The results give a profile for each Group by category and the total indicates the Group's level of participation in Parliamentary debates. The activity profile for each Group for the period 1 August 2004 to 1 August 2008 in the Sixth European Parliament is given on the diagram on the right. IND/DEM is denoted in orange.
The website shows IND/DEM as participating in 43 motions, making it one of the most inactive Groups during the period.
PublicationsEdit
IND/DEM publications included the Prague Declaration of October 2005, which restated their disapproval of the Constitution Treaty and belief that the values it embodied should not be resurrected,<ref name="IDPrague">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and the Delphi Declaration of July 2007, which made similar points concerning the Treaty of Lisbon.<ref name="IDDelphi">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> IND/DEM also published a newsletter called EU Watch, which gave a eurosceptic view on the EU activities of the day.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>