Union of European Democrats

Union of European Democrats Unia Europejskich Demokratów
Leader	Elżbieta Bińczycka
Founded	12 November 2016
Preceded by	Democratic Party – demokraci.pl
Ideology	Social liberalism Pro-Europeanism
Political position	Centre
European affiliation	None
European Parliament group	no MEPs
Sejm	4 / 460
Senate	0 / 100
European Parliament	0 / 50
Politics of Poland Political parties Elections

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The Union of European Democrats (Polish: Unia Europejskich Demokratów, UED) is a centrist political party in Poland. The party was founded on 12 November 2016 following the merger of the Democratic Party – demokraci.pl structures of the association of European Democrats.^[1] The name refers to the tradition of the Democratic Union and the Freedom Union, of which it is the successor. The party is generally characterised as socially liberal, with a moderate Christian Democratic wing. The UED strongly emphasizes commitment to the values of the European Union.^[1]

History

The extra-parliamentary Democratic Party merged with the European Democrats on 12 November 2016. The UED was led by the former Democratic Party president Elizabeth Bińczycka, with Jacek Protasiewicz serving as her Vice-President.^[2] Former President Lech Walesa and the chairman of the Committee for the Defence of Democracy Mateusz Kijowski spoke at the party's founding conference, and letters were read from former presidents Bronislaw Komorowski and Aleksander Kwasniewski.^[3]

Programme

The party program declaration is concerned with the defense of Polish democracy, support for Poland's membership of the European Union and NATO, and the putative threats to Poland posed by Russia. The UED supports the creation of a federal Europe. The party also advocates civil service reform, the separation of church and state, and the introduction of civil partnerships.^[4][5]

References