ECR Group Foreign Affairs spokeswoman, Anna Fotyga, has accused France of repeating previous mistakes by attempting to soften Europe's stance on Russia.

2 December 2019

MEPs are in Brussels this week where committee meetings are taking place and individual MEPs are holding hearings and events. This week is also the first week that the new von der Leyen European Commission begins its work.

2 December 2019

MEPs have today backed a resolution declaring a 'climate and environment emergency' however ECR Group members have stressed that alarmism will not help answer the serious questions over tackling global emissions.

28 November 2019

ECR Group Co-Chair Ryszard Legutko spoke earlier today during the debate with incoming European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. He said the ECR Group will continue to offer support on key packages such as finding a solution on migration, agreeing a compromise on the budget and proposals that further deepen the internal market. But he cautioned against attempts to reduce Member State's agenda setting powers and to remove their vetoes over foreign policy.

27 November 2019

The ECR congratulates the democracy movement on its overwhelming success in the Hong Kong district elections, where an unprecedented turnout of voters endorsed its programme.

27 November 2019

Next week we are in Strasbourg where we will be voting on the new European Commission, which is happening on Wednesday. There will be a debate on the forthcoming European Council as well as debates on the 30th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution and the COP 25 Climate Summit in Madrid that takes place in December. Read on for more details:

22 November 2019

ECR Group Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Anna Fotyga MEP has condemned the use of lethal force by the Iranian regime against activists and demonstrators.

20 November 2019

Last week lovers of freedom everywhere celebrated the anniversary of the Berlin wall’s destruction. Who would have thought then that 30 years after the collapse of Soviet-Inspired socialism a new Russian threat would be working its way insidiously into the heart of our economic life.

20 November 2019

The fall of the Berlin Wall brought an end to communism in Europe, but support for the hard left is more abundant than ever in the Western world. That was the message from ECR Group Co-Chair Ryszard Legutko ahead of this weekend's commemorations to mark the 30th anniversary since the fall of the Berlin Wall.

8 November 2019

The European Parliament’s Conference of Presidents took the decision to award the 2019 prestigious Sakharov prize for freedom of thought to Ilham Tohti. The ECR and our Flemish MEP Assita Kanko had nominated the Restorers, five Kenyan students who have developed an app to help fight female genital mutilation (FGM).

25 October 2019

Proposals from MEPs on search and rescue missions in the Mediterranean will facilitate people traffickers operating in the area, rather than stop them, warned ECR Group home affairs spokesman Nicola Procaccini today.

24 October 2019

The first negotiations on new rules covering the EU’s crowdfunding sector took place today in Strasbourg.

22 October 2019

"The EU was supposed to be about bringing countries and peoples together, not pushing them further apart", said ECR Group Co-Chair Ryszard Legutko during a debate today reviewing the Juncker Commission.

22 October 2019

Next week MEPs are in Strasbourg where group leaders will discuss Brexit on Monday evening following the outcome of Saturday's vote in Westminster. There will be a debate reviewing Jean-Claude Juncker's commission presidency and resolutions on Turkey and the collapse of Thomas Cook. On Thursday morning the winner of the 2019 Sakharov prize will be announced, with the ECR nominated 'The Restorers' shortlisted for the award.

18 October 2019

We must continue to strengthen our resilience against foreign interference into our democratic processes, warned ECR Group foreign affairs spokesperson Anna Fotyga today. She was speaking after the European Parliament adopted a resolution on foreign electoral interference and disinformation in national and European democratic processes.

10 October 2019

ECR Co-Chair Raffaele Fitto has urged both the UK and EU to come together to find a compromise on Brexit. He was speaking during a debate in Parliament with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier ahead of the next European Council Meeting on 17/18 October.

9 October 2019

The Restorers, the ECR Group's nomination for the European Parliament's 2019 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, have today been shortlisted for the award in a joint meeting of the Foreign Affairs, Development Cooperation & Human Rights Committee.

8 October 2019

Here's what's happening this week: Commission Vice-Presidents designate are quizzed by MEPs, Sakharov Prize nominees are shortlisted, and Parliament meets for a two day plenary session to discuss the next Multiannual Financial Framework and with Brexit also likely to feature.

7 October 2019

The European Parliament’s committee on Employment and Social Affairs questioned Nicolas Schmit, commissioner-designate for the Jobs portfolio.

1 October 2019

The hearings of the 26 Commissioner-designates start and the ECR Group present their nomination for the Sakharov prize.

30 September 2019

A resolution paying tribute to the victims of communism, Nazism and other totalitarian and authoritarian regimes was adopted today by an overwhelming majority in the European Parliament, In the text adopted, Parliament stressed that it was the signing of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact and its secret protocols caused the outbreak of World War II. It was the basis for two totalitarian regimes to divide Europe and the territories of independent states into two zones for their own influence and interests.

20 September 2019

Five teenage girls from Kenya have founded an app that helps girls affected by Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) On the initiative of MEP of Assita Kanko, the ECR Group has decided to nominate The Restorers for the 2019 Sakharov Prize. Two years ago, this group of five Kenyan students developed the i-Cut app: it should allow girls and young women who are at risk of genital mutilation to get help very quickly.

18 September 2019

Michel Barnier needs a "hurry up" call to agree a Brexit deal before the UK leaves on October 31. That was the message today from Geoffrey Van Orden in his speech to the European Parliament during a key debate on Britain’s departure.

18 September 2019

MEPs will be in Strasbourg next week where they will debate the latest Brexit developments, vote on the appointment of Christine Lagarde as the next President of the European Central Bank and continue their discussions on electoral interference and disinformation. There will also be a series of foreign affairs debates, including on the forest fires in the Amazon and the situation in both Hong Kong and Burkina Faso. Read on for more details.

16 September 2019

Ursula von der Leyen, President designate of the next European Commission, has today released details of the policy portfolio that each commissioner is set to be allocated.

10 September 2019

This week in Helsinki, ECR vice-chair Roberts Zile represented the Group during Parliament’s Conference of Presidents’ meeting with the Finnish Prime Minister as part of their six month Presidency of the European Council.

6 September 2019

ECR Group Co-Chairs, Raffaele Fitto and Ryszard Legutko, have written to Boris Johnson to congratulate him on his election as leader of the Conservative and Unionist Party and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

24 July 2019

ECR Group MEPs have today met in Brussels with transport ministers from Bulgaria, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland to discuss the EU's controversial Mobility Package.

24 July 2019

The ECR Group have announced details of the MEPs who will coordinate their work on the European Parliament's committees.

18 July 2019

ECR Group co-chairs Raffaele Fitto and Ryszard Legutko have reacted to this evening's vote in the European Parliament that saw Ursula von der Leyen elected as the next President of the European Commission.

16 July 2019

ECR Group co-chair Rafaelle Fitto has called for more clarity from European Commission President-designate, Ursula Von Der Leyen, on her programme for the next five years.

16 July 2019

On Tuesday 9th July ECR MEP’s Bert Jan Ruissen and Anna Fotyga hosted a conference on ‘Iran, Europe and the United States’ at the European Parliament in Brussels where Dr. Dan Schueftan from the University of Haifa was the main guest speaker.

11 July 2019

ECR co-chairs Raffaele Fitto and Ryszard Legutko today welcomed the European Commission President-designate to their Group meeting in Brussels.

9 July 2019

There is plenty going on in Brussels this week, here are some of the highlights:

8 July 2019

Next week the ECR Group will nominate Polish MEP Beata Szydlo to chair the European Parliament's Committee on Employment and Social Affairs.

5 July 2019

The ECR Group have today released details of places their Groups Members will take on the European Parliament's Committees.

4 July 2019

The ECR Group will nominate Flemish MEP Johan Van Overtveldt for the chairmanship of the European Parliament's Budget Committee.

4 July 2019

Czech MEP Jan Zahradil, the European Conservatives and Reformists Group's nomination, finished in second place in the first ballot for European Parliament President with 162 votes. No candidate received an absolute majority of the votes cast and therefore the contest now enters the second round.

3 July 2019

The ECR Group in the European Parliament has expressed its firm condemnation of the captain of the Sea Watch 3 ship, Carola Rackete, after allowing dozens of irregular migrants to embark on the vessel in the official Libyan Search and Sescue (SAR) zone before then sailing on to Italy, rejecting other ports in countries closer to its location.

3 July 2019

ECR Group members have condemned this week’s decision to restore Russia’s voting rights in the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly (PACE)

27 June 2019

The European Conservatives and Reformists Group today nominated Czech MEP Jan Zahradil as their candidate for the presidency of the European Parliament.

19 June 2019

The ECR Group in the European Parliament held its constitutive meeting in Brussels today, formally establishing the Group for the next five years. New Co-Chairs and the Bureau were appointed and new members Vox from Spain were welcomed.

19 June 2019

Coming up this week is the constitutive meeting of the ECR Group and the European Council Summit on Thursday and Friday.

17 June 2019

The ECR Group today held their first meeting since the 2019 European Elections As well as being joined by their current members the Group also welcomed five new MEPs from three different countries.

5 June 2019

ECR Group Co-Chair Ryszard Legutko has reacted to the 2019 European election results that show the ECR Group will continue to be a significant force in the next Parliament.

27 May 2019

ECR Co-Chair and most senior British MEP, Syed Kamall, today urged Westminster to reach a Brexit deal in time to avoid having to participate in next month's European elections, stating: "The time has come for pragmatism. Let's just get it done."

16 April 2019

This week our MEPs are in Strasbourg for the final time this mandate before campaigning for the European elections at the end of May. They will be debating the outcome of last week's Brexit European Council, the Future of Europe with the Latvian Prime Minister, as well as voting on important legislation, including new online rules that will set a one-hour time limit for internet platforms to remove terror-related content from their sites. Read below for more details.

15 April 2019

Internet platforms which host terrorist content would have one hour to remove it under new EU-wide legislation backed by MEPs today. Fines of up to four per-cent of turnover could be imposed on repeat offenders who fail to remove terrorist posts under proposals being led through the European Parliament by ECR MEP Daniel Dalton.

8 April 2019

New EU gas pipeline rules do not go far enough warns ECR MEP. Legislation intended to ensure that the EU's energy market rules apply to pipelines arriving from third countries such as Russia provide too many loopholes and ignore the interests of neighbouring Member States, warned Zdzislaw Krasnodebski, ECR energy spokesman and Vice-President of the European Parliament today.

5 April 2019

MEPs are today voting on the shape of the EU's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) for the next seven years. The proposals are intended to continue providing support to EU farmers in order to guarantee food security while also making the CAP more flexible and adaptable to emerging sustainability challenges.

2 April 2019

New rules providing the first EU-wide regulation of the crowdfunding sector have been approved today by MEPs. Led through the European Parliament by ECR MEP Ashley Fox, the legislation introduces common regulations and standards that crowdfunding service providers (CSPs) can opt into. Currently, separate national rules limit cross-border activity.

28 March 2019

The European Parliament has today adopted a new set of rules to help keep litter out of our seas and oceans. Under the laws a number of products will be banned where there are more sustainable and affordable alternatives already available, such as plastic cutlery and plates. Member States will also have to do more to reduce the use of plastic food containers and plastic drink cups for single use.

27 March 2019

The EU must start listening to voters’ genuine concerns and undertake a thorough self-appraisal, particularly given recent crises such as Brexit, said ECR co-chair Ryszard Legutko today.

27 March 2019

Next week our MEPs will be in Strasbourg, voting on important reforms to EU copyright law and whether we should end bi-annual clock changes in Europe. There will also be a debate following this week's European Council and votes to endorse agreements to cut single use plastics, reform the electricity market, introduce new rules for crowdfunding and to improve the interoperability of criminal records databases. Read on for more details.

22 March 2019

A new fund that will support Member States' efforts to boost security within and between their countries has been endorsed during a vote in the European Parliament in Strasbourg today. As currently proposed, the Internal Security Fund will have a budget of just under 5 billion euros to support objectives such as increasing the exchange of information between law enforcement authorities, tackling radicalisation and strengthening crime prevention.

13 March 2019

MEPs have today backed ECR MEP Anna Fotyga's report into EU efforts to tackle strategic propaganda against the EU and its Member States by third parties, such as Russia. The report reviews the response of the EU and its Member States to the first Strategic Communications (Stratcom) report adopted by the European Parliament in 2016 and provides further recommendations on how best to tackle strategic propaganda from third countries.

13 March 2019

Farmers and other food suppliers will be protected from a range of unfair trading practices under legislation approved today by the European Parliament. ECR MEPs strongly backed EU-wide minimum standards prohibiting eight commercial practices, including late payments for perishable products, last minute order cancellations and unilateral changes to supply agreements.

12 March 2019

ECR MEPs have today backed proposals to give citizens a greater say in EU policy making by strengthening the European Citizen’s Initiative (ECI). ECR MEPs believe the Commission should be held accountable to EU citizens and therefore fully support the strengthening of the ECI. This is a step in the right direction, bringing the EU closer to its citizens.

12 March 2019

A "gaping loophole" which allows third country nationals to hide their criminal records in the European Union was closed today by MEPs.They backed legislation, led through the European Parliament by ECR MEP Daniel Dalton, establishing a central database that will alert Member States if individuals have previous convictions in the EU.

12 March 2019

Next week our members will be in Strasbourg for the monthly voting session. They will hold a debate with the Slovakian Prime Minister, vote on a reports looking into propaganda from foreign actors, closing a criminal records loophole and new rules to protect farmers from abusive supermarket practices.

8 March 2019

The leaders of Debout la France and Forum for Democracy have announced today their intention to join the ECR Group following the European elections in May 2019. Nicolas Dupont-Aignan, who leads French party Debout la France, and Thierry Baudet, who leads Dutch party Forum for Democracy, both presented declarations with ECR co-chair professor Ryszard Legutko that outline their shared views on Europe as we approach the European elections.

28 February 2019

The EU's student exchange programme Erasmus is exactly the type of funding the EU budget should be providing, said ECR MEP Remo Sernagiotto after the Parliament's Culture Committee voted today on its next iteration of the programme.

20 February 2019

ECR MEP Roberts Zīle’s report aimed at liberalising coach and bus markets throughout the EU has been approved by the European Parliament today. Welcoming the outcome, which should help new entrants enter previously closed domestic markets, Zile said: “We have voted to take the first steps towards integrating the coach market, but at the same time ensured that certain well functioning national services are protected,”

14 February 2019

After years of negotiations and delays after the EU insisted on reopening negotiations after agreement had been reached in 2014, the long-awaited trade deal between the EU and Singapore has finally received the green light by the European Parliament.

13 February 2019

Brussels is refusing to listen to the real concerns of voters, warned ECR MEP Morten Messerschmidt after a series of votes in the European Parliament today. MEPs were voting on proposals put forward by the Constitutional Affairs Committee that repeated a number of previous, and already rejected, calls such as the removal of Member State opt-outs, the creation of transnational election lists and an EU-wide 'Europe Day' bank holiday.

13 February 2019

Europe must take steps now to ensure it reaps the economic, social and technological benefits of Artificial Intelligence (AI).

12 February 2019

Proposals aimed at better securing the EU's external borders were dealt a blow last night after MEPs dramatically watered down draft laws put forward by the European Commission.

12 February 2019

Next week our MEPs will be in Strasbourg where they will debate the Future of Europe with the Italian Prime Minister and also vote to ratify the EU-Singapore Trade Agreement. New rules to better screen foreign direct investments are also set to be adopted, in addition to votes on reports from ECR MEPs on animal welfare, liberalising coach travel and artificial intelligence. Read on for more details.

8 February 2019

More funding for medical research and an increase in preventative measures were cited as two key factors in the fight against female genital mutilation (FGM) at a hearing on the issue organised today by ECR Flemish MEP, Anneleen Van Bossuyt, to mark the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation.

5 February 2019

New EU-wide legislation to tackle terrorist content posted online has been unveiled today by ECR MEP Daniel Dalton. His draft report adds teeth to the existing code of practice while maintaining an emphasis on voluntary action. The report was considered by the Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Committee today. It is hoped it will be voted on by all MEPs before the European elections.

4 February 2019

The Irish backstop, far from preventing a hard border post-Brexit, will create one if not amended, ECR MEP Ashley Fox warned the European Parliament this afternoon.

31 January 2019

The drive for better lawmaking in the European Union must continue even after Brexit. That was the message when Anthea McIntyre, ECR MEP, addressed a meeting on better regulation organised in Brussels by the European Small Business Alliance (ESBA).

31 January 2019

Unprecedented new rules granting MEPs the right to dissolve other political factions in the European Parliament are set to be voted on this week in Brussels.

29 January 2019

A report calling for stricter rules for transporting live animals has been approved today by the Parliament’s Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development.

24 January 2019

An agreement that will close a loophole currently hampering the fight against cross border crime and terrorism has been approved today in the European Parliament.

23 January 2019

The EU needs to do more to counter hostile disinformation, warned ECR MEP Anna Fotyga after her report on the Strategic Communications (StratCom) policy of the EU's External Action Service was adopted today by the Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee.

22 January 2019

New EU-wide sanctions which could see heavy fines imposed on firms which breach consumer rights are included in an ECR report backed by MEPs today.

22 January 2019

ECR Group Czech MEP Jan Zahradil has raised concerns that France and Germany are using their dominance to force their own EU agenda on other Member States.

22 January 2019

“We have voted to make the first steps towards integrating the coach market whilst at the same time ensuring that well-functioning national models are protected,” said ECR Latvian MEP Robert Zile after his report on liberalising the EU bus sector was adopted today in the Transport Committee.

22 January 2019

Parliament's committees are meeting this week and our ECR MEPs will be working on improving animal welfare in transport, closing loopholes in our criminal databases, liberalising bus and coach travel in the EU, tackling propaganda and also signing off the EU-Singapore trade agreement. Read on for more details.

21 January 2019

A report containing politically motivated recommendations to overhaul the way pesticides are authorised for use in the European Union reflects poorly on the European Parliament, warned ECR MEP Anthea McIntyre today.

16 January 2019

The European Union should stand ready to help address concerns about the Withdrawal Agreement expressed by British MPs last night, MEPs have been told.

16 January 2019

The ECR Group have today welcomed a new Italian member, Innocenzo Leontini, who has left the EPP Group in order to join us. He will sit in the same delegation as the ECR Group’s three other MEPs, Raffaele Fitto, Remo Sernagiotto and Stefano Maullu.

15 January 2019

Individual EU Member States will lose their veto over EU level tax policies under new proposals set to be announced by the European Commission today.

15 January 2019

This week ECR MEPs will debate Brexit, present their vision for an EU that does less but better, support a multi-currency EU, defend freedom of religion around the world and protect science-based decision making on pesticides.

14 January 2019

The future of relations between African and European nations must be mutually beneficial and interdependent, said ECR Group co-Chair Syed Kamall at the opening of the ECR's first ever Africa Summit today in Brussels.

9 January 2019