Welcome Message
 |
Welcome to the Group of the European People's Party (Christian Democrats) and European Democrats in the European Parliament. We are pleased that you have clicked on our site and we hope you will find something to interest you.
With 271 Members from all 25 Member States of the European Union the EPP-ED is the largest group in the European Parliament. We are the political force of the Centre in Europe and in the European Parliament. Through their votes in June 2004 the voters of Europe have expressed their confidence in the Members represented in our group and they have given an enormous boost to the political Centre in Europe. They have clearly shown that they regard the Members of our group as being most capable of tackling European policy.
We regard this as an obligation and a challenge to use the rights of the European Parliament in the interests of the citizens of Europe. Together with the Council of Ministers, the European Parliament has the right to decide on legislation on environmental matters and consumer protection, for example, and in future on asylum and immigration policy, too, and on the EU's budget. In addition, the European Parliament acts as a watchdog on the Commission and it is involved in all the main decisions of the Union: conclusion of international agreements, inclusion of new Member States in the EU and decisions on the appointment of the 25 EU Commissioners.
We should like to use this site to inform you of our decisions on specific political issues and to keep in touch with you. We regard our role as shaping European policy for and with the citizens of Europe. These pages should be used by you and by us to further that end.
I hope you will find our World Wide Web site interesting.
CURRICULUM VITAE
Hans-Gert Poettering
Chairman of the Group of the European People's Party
(Christian Democrats) and European Democrats
