The European Party (
Greek: Ευρωπαϊκό Κόμμα (Ευρωκό), ''Evropaiko Komma'', Evroko) was a
political party
A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...
in
Cyprus
Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...
founded in 2005, largely out of the parties
New Horizons
''New Horizons'' is an Interplanetary spaceflight, interplanetary space probe launched as a part of NASA's New Frontiers program. Engineered by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) and the Southwest Research Institut ...
and
European Democracy. In March 2016, it dissolved to merge into the
Solidarity Movement.
The two predecessors were considered the most nationalist, anti-Turkish and
anti-immigrant among Greek Cypriot parties. Evroko had a hard-line stance on the
Cyprus problem
The Cyprus problem, also known as the Cyprus conflict, Cyprus issue, Cyprus dispute, or Cyprus question, is an ongoing dispute between the Greek Cypriot and the Turkish Cypriot community in the north of the island of Cyprus, where troops of th ...
,
rejecting any compromise with Turkey or the Turkish-dominated Northern Cyprus, as proposed by the
Annan Plan for Cyprus. It supported European integration and maintaining Greek influence in Cyprus. The party supported free market economic policies similar to that of
Democratic Rally and the
Democratic Party. In electoral campaigns, Evroko stirred up
xenophobic ressentiments, suggesting that Greek Cypriots would become a minority in their own country, endangered by criminal, illegal aliens who would steal their jobs.
The party was a member of the
European Democratic Party.
In the
elections of 21 May 2006, the party won 5.8 percent and 3 out of 56 seats. In the
2009 European parliament election, Evroko won 4.12% of votes. In the 2011 legislative elections the party won 3.88 percent and 2 out of 56 seats. In 2013, Nikos Koutsou, one of the two members of parliament, left the party to become an independent due to disagreement. For the
European Parliament election, 2014, the party formed an alliance with the
Democratic Rally (DISY). Both seats won by the alliance went to DISY members.
References
External links
Official website
Greek Cypriot nationalism
Defunct political parties in Cyprus
Political parties established in 2005
Political parties disestablished in 2016
European Democratic Party
2005 establishments in Cyprus
Pro-European political parties in Cyprus
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