Two weeks after the European elections returned 26 Conservatives David Cameron has fulfilled his controversial pledge to form a new bloc large enough to qualify for full recognition in Strasbourg.

The new grouping brings together centre-right MEPs from eight EU countries under the name “European Conservatives and Reformists Group”, with the UK Tory faction as the biggest single national element.

Second largest will be the 15 MEPs from Poland’s Law and Justice Party (PiS), followed by nine MEPs from the Czech Republic’s ODS (Civil Democrats) party.

The group is likely to be the fourth largest bloc in the new European Parliament - but the Tories are still negotiating with other likely allies.

The new group pledges itself to uphold “the sovereign integrity of the nation state” and “opposition to EU federalism”.

It demands “effectively-controlled immigration and an end to abuse of asylum procedures” and “an end to waste and excessive bureaucracy and a commitment to greater transparency and probity in the EU institutions and use of EU funds”.

Finally, the group seeks “respect and equitable treatment for all EU countries, new and old, large and small”.

source: The Telegraph