European Young Conservatives
| European Young Conservatives | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Chairman |
 |
| Deputy Chairman |
 |
| Vice-Chairman |
   .svg.png){kind=small}  |
| Secretary General |
|
| Treasurer |
|
| Founded | August 1993 |
| Split from | Democrat Youth Community of Europe |
| Headquarters |
Margaret Thatcher House, 85 Western Road, Romford, London, RM1 3LS United Kingdom |
| Ideology |
Conservatism Euroscepticism |
| International affiliation | International Young Democrat Union |
| Website |
www |
The European Young Conservatives (EYC) is a grouping of youth wings of conservative and centre-right political parties in Europe.
As of 2014, the group has a membership of 25 political youth organisations from 22 different countries and territories, in addition to four associated members. The EYC is independent and not affiliated with any European political party, but maintains a non-exclusive relationship with the Alliance of Conservatives and Reformists in Europe (formerly known as the European Conservatives and Reformists).
The EYC is a full member of the International Young Democrat Union.
History
The EYC was founded in August 1993 by the youth wings of the British Conservative Party, Danish Conservative People's Party, and Icelandic Independence Party, under the leadership of Andrew Rosindell, then-chairman of the UK's Young Conservatives.[1]
It emerged from a split in the centre-right Democrat Youth Community of Europe (DEMYC), which separated into two factions: the larger part, following a broadly Christian democratic philosophy; and the smaller part, led by Rosindell, following a broadly conservative philosophy. Two crucial points of disagreement were the scope of economic liberalisation and the desirability of a federal Europe.
From 1993 to 1997, the group was led by Rosindell.[2] The group gave training to newly established democratic political parties in Russia, Belarus, and Azerbaijan.[3]
The EYC generally holds three conference events per year, with the largest being the autumn Freedom Summit. It has held Freedom Summits in Cambridge, United Kingdom (2014 and 2015), Porto, Portugal (2016), and Warsaw, Poland (2017) as well as summer camps in Stockholm, Sweden (2014), Tbilisi, Georgia (2016), and Prague, Czech Republic (2017), and annual congresses in Warsaw, Poland (2012),[4] Istanbul, Turkey (2014), Prague, Czech Republic (2012, 2013 and 2015), Brussels, Belgium (2016) and London, United Kingdom (2017).[5]
Since 2016, an internal conflict between civic and ethnic nationalists has emerged within the EYC. The ethnic nationalists were opposed to the membership of Turkish and Israeli parties and claimed the EYC has "replaced anti-immigration politics with free market capitalism".[6] Resulting from the dispute, the Finns Party Youth announced its withdrawal on May 18, 2017, with its leader Samuli Voutila saying: "We cannot be members in the same organization as the new Turkish sultan’s youth wing, when it acts against European values."[7] On June 12, the Estonian movement Blue Awakening sent a letter to the EYC demanding the expulsion of the Turkish AK Party Youth within seven days. The letter was later published on Richard B. Spencer's website AltRight.com.[6][8]
Membership
The EYC has twenty-five member organisations:[9]
Associate members
Former members
| Country | Organisation | Mother party | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
Blue Awakening | Conservative People's Party of Estonia | Was expelled on 18 July 2017 after criticizing Turkish government policies |
 |
Finns Party Youth | Finns Party | Left on 18 May 2017 in protest against Turkish government policies |
 |
AK Party Youth | Justice and Development Party | Was expelled on 21/22 October 2017 due to perceived human rights violations in Turkey by the AKP[10] |
Footnotes
- ↑ Mercer, Paul (1994). Directory of British Political Organisations. London: Longman. p. 133. ISBN 978-0-582-23729-2.
- ↑ "Andrew Rosindell". Parliament. Archived from the original on 9 June 2010. Retrieved 26 August 2010.
- ↑ "After the Campaign Rush". BBC News. 7 June 2001.
- ↑ "Europejscy Młodzi Konserwatyści na kongresie w Warszawie". Gazeta Wyborcza (in Polish). 20 May 2012. Archived from the original on 2 September 2017. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
- ↑ "EYC Congress gathered in Prague". European Young Conservatives. Archived from the original on August 24, 2013. Retrieved May 21, 2012.
- 1 2 Lyons, Charles (12 June 2017). "Estonian Blue Awakening Gives European Young Conservatives 7 Days To Stop Their Cuckish Ways". AltRight.com. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
- ↑ The Finns Party Youth leaves European Young Conservatives. 18.05.2017.
- ↑ "EKRE's youth organization thrown out of European Young Conservatives". 19 June 2017. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
- ↑ "Members". European Young Conservatives. Retrieved May 21, 2012.
- ↑ https://euobserver.com/tickers/139586