In 1953, the European People’s Party was the first to establish its political group in the European Parliament. This Tuesday in Strasbourg, the current and former EPP leaders and politicians celebrated the anniversary, offering a great opportunity to take stock of successes and challenges for the Group.
“Without the solid fundaments and historical achievements of Christian Democracy and the EPP as its representative, the decades-long era of peace and a prosperous society in Europe would never have been created. Let us be proud that Europe is the best place in the world”, recalled György Hölvényi, Christian Democrat MEP from Hungary, on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the EPP Group at the European Parliament.
MEP Hölvényi recalled, “For decades, the EPP gave influential politicians, among others Robert Schuman, Konrad Adenauer, Helmut Kohl, Wilfried Martens, József Antall and Vytautas Landsbergis, who assumed responsibility for the Union at the head of national governments or as EU politicians. They acted on the basis of a system of values that is built on the foundations of Christian Democracy, solidarity, subsidiarity, the social teaching of the churches, and placed the human person at the centre with rights and responsibilities.”
According to the Vice-President of the Hungarian Christian Democrat People’s Party, it seems a great contradiction that welfare societies of Western Europe, which achieved their successes thanks to this politics, turned away from the political roots that gave life to their societies. Some of our sister parties – partly under the pressure of the mainstream – chose to give up their own values instead of good, acceptable compromises.
MEP Hölvényi concluded by highlighting, “Among the many contradictions of the present times, sooner or later we will witness the emergence of a European political force capable of re-assuming Christian values.”
Looking at the European elections approaching he reminded that “great humility and serious self-examination is needed in order that the Christian Democracy of the 21st century and the Christian Democrat EPP can truly become a force that shapes society in Europe.”