BRITAIN: Conservative leader David Cameron has delayed a commitment to remove the party's 26 MEPs from the biggest political group in the European Parliament until 2009.
The Tory leader said yesterday that conservative MEPs would withdraw from the European People's Party (EPP) and set up a new centre-right group in the parliament, but not until after the next European election.
During the Conservative party leadership campaign Mr Cameron pledged to withdraw the Tories from the pro-European EPP party, which sits in a group with the European Democrats (ED). The pledge was a sop to conservative eurosceptics who oppose closer European integration - a policy objective supported by the EPP-ED group.
Under pressure from some MEPs who didn't want to leave the EPP, Mr Cameron yesterday put off the creation of a new group until 2009.
He made the announcement as he signed a joint declaration with Czech Civic Democrat leader Mirek Topolanek, who confirmed that his party would join the Tories in a new group in 2009. Other centre-right political parties will also be invited to join the proposed group.
The long-awaited decision secures Fianna Fáil's position within the rival Union for Europe of the Nations (UEN) political group in the parliament for the next three years. But the creation of a new group by the Conservative party could attract some members of the UEN in 2009.
Mr Cameron's EU adviser, William Hague, held talks with members of the Polish Law and Justice party this year in an attempt to get them to join a new centre- right group. Law and Justice is a key member of the UEN group, which has just 30 MEPs and could be susceptible to defections from its right-wing MEPs from eastern Europe.
Brian Crowley, Fianna Fáil MEP and co-president of the UEN, said the announcement of the delay was something he had predicted because Tory leaders had been pledging to take their party out of the EPP for 12 years without any success.
Fianna Fáil's four MEPs rejected an agreement negotiated by party headquarters for them to join the Liberal group following the last European elections.
The four MEPs cited differences in policy, particularly its support for EU integration, reform of the Common Agricultural Policy and personal freedom on issues such as abortion.