A 'New Deal' for Europe?

An ALDE party delegation has travelled to Paris for a top-level meeting with senior members of the French centrist coalition, the UDI.

European Liberals played a key role in the drafting of a working document to form the basis of the UDI manifesto for the 2014 European elections and municipal elections in France. ALDE Party Vice-President Alexander Graf-Lambsdorf MEP, who was accompanied by ALDE parliamentary group leader Guy Verhofstadt and supported by MEPs Louis Michel, Sylvie Goulard and Andrew Duff, participated in active and lively debate over issues ranging from EU governance, banking and the economy to the internal market and immigration.

The discussion continued in the afternoon with a packed open session entitled Shared political values for Europe.

Speaking after today's meeting, Alexander Graf Lambsdorf said "The political centre in France is getting stronger by the day as the left and right are bringing the country down. ALDE welcomes this development because Europe needs a strong France and for that we need a strong force at the centre of French politics."

"The meeting was characterised by the spirit of friendship and optimism."

UDI Vice-President Jean Arthuis, who is in charge of the party's European initiative, repeated his call for a greater federalisation of the Eurozone in order to build a more effective response to ongoing economic crisis and the spread of globalisation.

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