Wednesday, February 04, 2009
THE European Parliament is reconsidering its decision to recognise Libertas as a pan-European party and give them a grant of €200,000 for this year after some doubt about one of Libertas’s sponsors.
To qualify, a party must have elected politicians from at least seven EU member states.
Libertas had named eight politicians from seven countries on their application.
However, the Estonian MP Igor Grazin appeared to withdraw his name yesterday and said that while he supported the creation of new parties, he would not be a member of Libertas.
A parliament spokesperson said that as a result no payment would be made to Libertas until the matter was clarified. "The matter is being investigated further by the bureau and will be considered at their next meeting on February 18," he said.
Libertas spokesperson Anita Kelly said there was no doubt but that Mr Grazin supported the creation of the party and they were confident about the situation.
She said Mr Grazin never intended to join the group, set up by businessman Declan Ganley, but added his name to ensure it received recognition as a party.
"He is not going to be a member of Libertas and he is not going to be involved with Libertas or be a Libertas candidate, but that does not mean that he should not sign the form to be a political party," she said.
Mr Grazin’s party, the Reform Party of Estonia, is a member of the Liberals in the European Parliament. A spokesperson for the group said as a result of contacts with Mr Grazin there was a query about his signature.
The application for funds had the names of three MEPs — two from France and one from Greece — three members of national governments — Finland, Bulgaria and Estonia — and a member of a Polish regional assembly.
Mr Ganley is expected to confirm later this month that he intends to contest the European Parliament elections in June.
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