Following Romania’s European Parliament elections on 25 November, ELDR member party the National Liberal Party (PNL) has won six MEP seats out of a total of 35, according to the Central Electoral Bureau. The PNL finished in third position, with 13.4% of the vote, behind the Social Democratic Party (PSD) (21.65%) and the Democratic Party (PD) (29.23%), according to Monday’s partial results.“We received many suggestions from the electorate during the campaign, which were published in a guide that each Liberal MEP will take to Brussels so as not to forget why he/she is there,” said Romania’s Prime Minister and PNL President Calin Popescu Tariceanu. Read more ...

 ELDR member party the Croatian People's Party (HNS) has once again emerged as the third biggest political party in Croatian politics following parliamentary elections on 25 November with 7 MP seats. HNS leader Vesna Pusić was re-elected as an MP. The biggest two parties following the elections were the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), with 66 seats, and the Social Democrats (SDP), with 56 seats. The Istrian Democratic Assembly (IDS) won three seats and the Croatian Social Liberal Party (HSLS) won two seats, making up a total of 12 seats won by ELDR member parties in Croatia. To form a government a coalition needs 77 out of a total of 153 seats, which means that one or all of the ELDR member parties may end up in government. Read more ...

 The Centre Jean Gol, a liberal think tank with close links to the Belgian ‘Mouvement Réformateur’ political party, has co-organised a conference on the hosting of European institutions in Brussels with the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party. The event, entitled ‘Brussels, capital city of Europe at the heart of liberalism’, took place on Friday 9 November. Hervé Hasquin, the chief executive officer of the Centre Jean Gol, opened the session, which was chaired by Bernard Clerfayt, mayor of Schaerbeek, the second biggest of the 19 municipalities that make up the Brussels Capital Region. ELDR President Annemie Neyts, who was born in Brussels and grew up in the European quarter, was the first keynote speaker. She told the audience that Brussels has gained a lot from the presence of the European institutions. “Brussels would be like any middle-sized capital city in Europe without the presence of the EU and NATO.” Read more ...