The European Democratic Alliance (EDA) was a heterogeneous political group in the European Parliament between 1984 and 1995. It consisted mainly of deputies from the French Gaullist Rally for the Republic (RPR) and the Irish Fianna Fáil. The grouping had a generally centre-right outlook, and strongly defended the European Union's Common Agricultural Policy.
History Following the 1984 elections, the Group of European Progressive Democrats renamed itself on 24 July 1984 to the Group of the European Democratic Alliance. The European Democratic Alliance merged with the Forza Europa group (dominated by MEPs from Forza Italia) to become the "Group Union for Europe" on 6 July 1995.
Nomenclature The name of the group in English is Group of the European Democratic Alliance in long form, European Democratic Alliance in short form, and the abbreviation is EDA. The equivalents in French are Groupe du Rassemblement des Démocrates Européens, Rassemblement des Démocrates Européens, and RDE. Those French equivalents are sometimes rendered in English as Union of European Democrats and UED.
Composition 1984–1989 Country Name Ideology MEPs Notes Rally for the Republic RPR GaullismLiberal conservatism National Centre of Independents and Peasants CNI Liberal conservatismConservative liberalism Magdeleine Anglade, Philippe Malaud French Christian Democracy DCF Christian democracy Alfred Coste-Floret Radical Party PR LiberalismConservative liberalism Jacqueline Thome-Patenotre Union for French Democracy UDF LiberalismChristian democracy Fianna Fáil FF Irish republicanismConservatism Scottish National Party SNP Scottish nationalismSocial democracy Winifred M. Ewing Democratic Renewal Party (1986–1987) PRD Third WayPopulism José Medeiros Ferreira
1989–1994 Country Name Ideology MEPs Notes Rally for the Republic RPR GaullismLiberal conservatism National Centre of Independents and Peasants CNI Liberal conservatismConservative liberalism Yvon Briant Fianna Fáil FF Irish republicanismConservatism Democratic Renewal DA ConservatismEconomic liberalism Dimitrios Nianias
1994–1995 Country Name Ideology MEPs Notes Rally for the Republic RPR GaullismLiberal conservatism Fianna Fáil FF Irish republicanismConservatism CDS – People's Party CDS–PP Christian democracyConservatism was expelled from EPP after rejection of Maastricht treaty Political Spring PA National conservatismPopulism
Sources Europe Politique European Parliament European Parliament MEP Archivesb961115.htm on the European Parliament website Department of Economics, University of California, Berkeley CVCE (Previously European NAvigator)
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