| Summary: | The article presents an analysis of the process of formation of the European People’s Party on the basis of Christian Democratic parties in Europe, which began after the end of the Second World War. This party initially supported the creation of a United Europe and played a pro- minent role in the General Assembly of the European Coal and Steel Association. However, at the end of the XX century, the Christian Democrats lost the initiative in the European arena to the So- cialists and Social Democrats because they could not expand their ranks, trying to preserve the ideo- logical purity of their ranks. At the end of the XX century, they changed their strategy, proclaiming a policy of openness towards other center-right parties, including those from Central and Eastern Europe. However, they had to pay for this by eroding their ideological base. In the end, the EPP United the majority of Christian-Democratic, Conservative, and Liberal-Conservative parties from most EU member States. Today, this party is the leading political force in the European Union, in- cluding its institutions such as the European Parliament, the European Commission and the Europe- an Council, and is likely to maintain these positions for at least the next 5-10 years.
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