*Insert Manifesto Here* - the MELD (non)-manifesto

The Europe of Freedom and Democracy Group in the European Parliament houses many of the Euroskeptic parties. Part of the group's charter is that each national delegation can vote as they see fit, so it's not surprising that the connected Europarty, the Movement for a Europe of Liberties and Democracy (MELD*) doesn't have a common election manifesto. Note that while UKIP is a major part of the EFD group, it's not part of MELD, which counts Lega Nord, the True Finns party and the Danish People's Party among its members.

The principles of MELD, which closely mirrors the EFD Charter, are:

• Supporting freedom and cooperation among sovereign States in an effort to impede the complete bureaucratisation of Europe;

• Opposing further European integration;
• Supporting national referendums as the means through which any treaty change takes place;
• That the nation state is the legitimate level for democracy;
• National delegations in the Europarty can vote how they wish.

Incidentally, UKIP do not have a manifesto going into this election.

The lack of a common manifesto, and in some cases any manifesto at all, is unlikely to be a problem for these parties, however. They present a clear anti-EU position, so if you want an anti-EU voice that supports withdrawal or dissolution rather than some form of reform, then MELD and its allies might be for you. It does mean, however, that they're free to vote however they want in the meantime.



*Is it just me, or is that an ironic acronym?