The evolution of the European People’s Party after the integration of parties from Western and Eastern Europe: lessons to be learned for european integration and the development of europarties

Abstract

[…] The aim of this thesis is to review and, based on evidence, re-envisage the foundation and development of the European People’s Party (EPP) through primary research. Through this, we aspire to contribute to the academic discussion on the Europarties within the European integration context. Starting from its creation and early-days period, in the 1970s, as the ‘party’ of the Christian Democratic parties from member states of the European Communities and going through the subsequent integration of political parties from Western and, later on, Eastern European countries, in the 1980s and 1990s to its status at the early 2000s. The originally founded ‘Christian Democratic organisation’ was transformed to a political family, or a ‘network’, of centre-right parties including Christian democratic, conservative and like-minded parties. We will attempt to understand why this change took place, under what reasons, dependent and independent variables, normative conditions, within the historical context. We will follow the timeline of events in the wider context of the European integration that has been underlining, historically, our subject. Ultimately, we are looking for a deeper understanding of this evolution and how does it help understand the broader issue of European parties. Additionally, we are tracing theoretical patterns that its evolution can contribute towards the academic discussion about European integration and their prospects for the future. […]