Maude denies rift over EPP withdrawal
Francis Maude says reports of rift over EPP withdrawal is 'nonsense'
Monday, 12, Jun 2006 12:00
Conservative party chairman Francis Maude has denied suggestions of a rift between David Cameron and William Hague over withdrawal from the EPP.
Reports last week suggested the shadow foreign secretary was unsure that Mr Cameron's pledge to pull the Tories out of the centre-right grouping in the European parliament could be achieved within a year.
In a major speech last week, Mr Hague barely mentioned the policy, saying only that it was necessary to "pursue new and modern ideas for Europe… to champion the open reforming EU we believe Europe needs".
It is thought he is having problems finding political groupings to ally with in the European parliament outside of the EPP, which, although it advocates a federal Europe, includes many of the major conservative groups in the EU.
Many Tory MEPs fear that in pulling out of the EPP, they would lose much of their influence – for example, only as part of a large group do they get the chance to chair committees.
Yesterday, former Conservative foreign secretary Malcolm Rifkind said the party "don't yet know whether that particular policy can be implemented" to provide the Tories with the kind of influence they want in the union.
"You can have significant groupings that aren't respectable because there's some pretty dodgy elements in the European parliament," he told GMTV's Sunday.
"You can also have people who are respectable, but not significant, because they don’t command the numbers."
However, Mr Maude told Sky News' Sunday Live with Adam Boulton that any suggestion of a fall-out between the Tory leader and his shadow foreign secretary was a "complete nonsense".
He said Mr Cameron was completely committed to his pledge, one of the few made during his leadership campaign, to pull the Tories out of the EPP because it was inconsistent with the party's domestic policy to oppose closer European integration.
"The idea that there is some sort of fall-out is complete nonsense - someone is doing a bit of mischief making," Mr Maude said, and said Mr Hague would make an announcement about the policy at the end of July.
However, he added: "When you are putting together a new grouping, which is the more ambitious and more constructive thing to do than just walking away from the EPP, the timing of that new grouping coming together is not just in our own hands."
There is currently an online battle within the Conservatives in the European parliament, with rival campaign groups set up on the internet to campaign for the party to stay within, or withdraw from the EPP.
Those who are urging Mr Cameron to stick to his guns include Daniel Hannan, Chris Heaton-Harris, Roger Helmer, Syed Kamall, Martin Callanan, David Sumberg, Nirj Deva and Geoffrey Van Orden, according to www.adieu-epp.com.
Meanwhile, Christopher Beazley, Philip Bushill-Matthews, James Elles, Jonathan Evans and Caroline Jackson have all threatened to defy the party whip, according to campaign site epp-ed.blogspot.com, with several others publicly criticising Mr Cameron's policy.