| European Alliance group in the European Committee of the Regions | |
| Colorcode: |
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| Foundation: | 1996 |
| President: | Karl Vanlouwe |
| Ideology: | Regionalism (politics)Centrism |
| Seats1 Title: | European Committee of the Regions |
| Website: | http://www.ea.cor.europa.eu |
The European Alliance (EA) is a political group in the European Committee of the Regions composed of a mix of regionalist parties and independent members. It was established in 1996, with strong influence of the European Free Alliance, and has since then existed in several incarnations.
Currently, the group gathers 29 local and regional politicians from the following Member States: Belgium, France, Ireland, Lithuania, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Spain.
Since its foundation in 1996 until 2004, the European Alliance group consisted of the European Free Alliance's member parties aligned with a group of independents and the then-governing party of Ireland, Fianna Fáil, thus serving as a relatively loose grouping of regionalist and non-regionalist members of the European Committee of the Regions. The group's main founding principles included:
In 2004 the group was reconstituted as Union for Europe of the Nations – European Alliance (UEN–EA), uniting a wide range of political options, from traditionally centrist parties to more national-conservative ones. At the time, the group was partly affiliated with the European Parliament's Union for Europe of the Nations.
In 2009, the group restored its original name and has since returned to its regionalist roots.
EA group currently gathers 29 members and alternates from Catalonia, Corsica, Flanders, Friesland, Hungary, Ireland, Lithuania, Navarra, Poland, Romania and Slovakia.
Apart from its regionalist affiliations, the group gathers a significant number of independent members active in the development of Europe's disadvantaged regions, particularly rural, mountainous and island areas. In addition, a strong focus is put on the promotion of green economy and the protection of Europe's cultural and linguistic diversity, especially regional identities.
Some of the group's main priorities include:[1]
The current president of the group is Mr Karl Vanlouwe, Member of the Flemish Parliament.
Previous presidents include:
| Period | Name | Authority | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 – 2002 | Seán Ó Neachtain | Galway County Council | Ireland | |
| 2002 – 2004 | Annette McNamara | Cork County Council | Ireland | |
| 2004 – 2006 | Keith Brown | Clackmannanshire Council | Scotland | |
| 2006 – 2007 | Maria Corrigan | Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown County Council and Dublin Regional Authority | Ireland | |
| 2007 – 2010 | Paul O' Donoghue | Kerry County Council | Ireland | |
| 2010 – 2012 | Jerzy Zająkała | Mayor of Lubianka | Poland | |
| 2012 – 2015 | Uno Silberg | Kose Municipality Council | Estonia | |
| 2015 – 2017 | Stanisław Szwabski | Gdynia City Council | Poland | |
| 2017 – 2020 | Karl Vanlouwe | Member of the Flemish Parliament | Flanders | |
| 2020 – 2022 | Kieran McCarthy | Cork City Council | Ireland | |
| 2022 – | Karl Vanlouwe | Member of the Flemish Parliament | Flanders |