History
MER was formed as an interim measure to function outside the European Parliament until a new group could be formed within it after the 2009 elections. Until then, its MEPs continued as members of the now-dissolved ED subgroup within the broader EPP-ED group.
Since its launch, it was unclear as to whether the MER would remain a simple pan-European alliance or apply for official recognition as a political party at European level (sometimes called a Europarty). The body's founding statement expressly offered membership to parties from non-EU member states, a characteristic of other Europarties, and its commitment to fight the 2009 election together suggested an appetite for recognition.
After the 2009 European election, members of the MER initiated the European Conservatives and Reformists Group, a new political group in the European Parliament.
The MER website stopped being updated in 2007 and, in June 2009, the British Conservative Shadow Foreign Secretary William Hague said that the MER's aims and activities would be folded into the new European Parliamentary group.
Read more about this topic: Movement For European Reform
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