title: Parties in the European Council during 2007
text: # Parties in the European Council during 2007
  
  This article describes the party affiliations of leaders of each member-state represented in the European Council during the year 2007. The list below gives the political party that each head of government, or head of state, belongs to at the national level, as well as the European political alliance to which that national party belongs. The states are listed from most to least populous. More populous states have greater influence in the council, in accordance with the system of Qualified Majority Voting.
  
  ## Summary
  
  | Party | 1 January 2007 | 1 January 2007 | 11 January 2007 | 11 January 2007 | 20 April 2007 | 20 April 2007 | 23 May 2007 | 23 May 2007 | 16 November 2007 | 16 November 2007 | 20 December 2007 | 20 December 2007 |
  | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
  | Party | # | QMV | # | QMV | # | QMV | # | QMV | # | QMV | # | QMV |
  | European People's Party | 11 | 132 | 10 | 122 | 9 | 108 | 10 | 122 | 11 | 149 | 10 | 145 |
  | Party of European Socialists | 6 | 97 | 7 | 107 | 8 | 121 | 7 | 107 | 7 | 107 | 7 | 107 |
  | Alliance for Europe of the Nations | 2 | 34 | 2 | 34 | 2 | 34 | 2 | 34 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 7 |
  | European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party | 4 | 30 | 4 | 30 | 4 | 30 | 4 | 30 | 4 | 30 | 5 | 34 |
  | European Democratic Party | 1 | 29 | 1 | 29 | 1 | 29 | 1 | 29 | 1 | 29 | 1 | 29 |
  | Movement for European Reform | 1 | 12 | 1 | 12 | 1 | 12 | 1 | 12 | 1 | 12 | 1 | 12 |
  | Independent | 2 | 11 | 2 | 11 | 2 | 11 | 2 | 11 | 2 | 11 | 2 | 11 |
  
  ## List of leaders (1 January 2007)
  
  | Member-state | Votes | Leader | National party | European party |
  | - | - | - | - | - |
  | Germany | 29 | Angela Merkel | CDU | EPP |
  | United Kingdom | 29 | Tony Blair | Lab | PES |
  | France | 29 | Jacques Chirac | UMP | EPP |
  | Italy | 29 | Romano Prodi | Independent | EDP |
  | Spain | 27 | José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero | PSOE | PES |
  | Poland | 27 | Jarosław Kaczyński | PiS | AEN |
  | Romania | 14 | Traian Băsescu | Independent | EPP |
  | Netherlands | 13 | Jan Peter Balkenende | CDA | EPP |
  | Greece | 12 | Kostas Karamanlis | ND | EPP |
  | Czech Republic | 12 | Mirek Topolánek | ODS | MER |
  | Belgium | 12 | Guy Verhofstadt | VLD | ELDR |
  | Hungary | 12 | Ferenc Gyurcsány | MSZP | PES |
  | Portugal | 12 | José Sócrates | PS | PES |
  | Sweden | 10 | Fredrik Reinfeldt | M | EPP |
  | Austria | 10 | Wolfgang Schüssel | ÖVP | EPP |
  | Bulgaria | 10 | Sergei Stanishev | BSP | PES |
  | Slovakia | 7 | Robert Fico | SMER-SD | PES |
  | Denmark | 7 | Anders Fogh Rasmussen | V | ELDR |
  | Finland | 7 | Matti Vanhanen | Kesk. | ELDR |
  | Ireland | 7 | Bertie Ahern | FF | AEN |
  | Lithuania | 7 | Valdas Adamkus | Independent | Independent |
  | Latvia | 4 | Aigars Kalvītis | TP | EPP |
  | Slovenia | 4 | Janez Janša | SDS | EPP |
  | Estonia | 4 | Andrus Ansip | RE | ELDR |
  | Cyprus | 4 | Tassos Papadopoulos | DIKO | Independent |
  | Luxembourg | 4 | Jean-Claude Juncker | CSV | EPP |
  | Malta | 3 | Lawrence Gonzi | PN | EPP |
  
  ^ Supported by PD ^ Prior to 14 October, Prodi had officially aligned himself only with his The Olive Tree coalition rather than any member-party, but he had previously been a member of Democracy is Freedom – The Daisy's ancestor-party and was honorary president of its European parent, the EDP. ^ DIKO's MEP is a member of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe group in the European Parliament, but the party is not formally attached to any pan-European organization.
  
  ## Changes
  
  ### Affiliation
  
  | Date | Member-state | Leader | National party | European party |
  | - | - | - | - | - |
  | 11 January | Austria | Alfred Gusenbauer | SPÖ | PES |
  | 20 April | Romania | Nicolae Văcăroiu | PSD | PES |
  | 23 May | Romania | Traian Băsescu | Independent | EPP |
  | 16 November | Poland | Donald Tusk | PO | EPP |
  | 20 December | Latvia | Ivars Godmanis | LPP/LC | ELDR |
  
  ^ Supported by PD
  
  ### Office-holder only
  
  | Date | Member-state | New Leader | National party | European party |
  | - | - | - | - | - |
  | 16 May | France | Nicolas Sarkozy | UMP | EPP |
  | 27 June | United Kingdom | Gordon Brown | Labour | PES |
  
  ### National party changes
  
  * On 14 October, Prodi's governing The Olive Tree coalition of parties merged into a single Democratic Party. The successor party had yet to determine whether it would continue Daisy's EDP membership; Prodi remained aligned on an individual basis with the EDP.
  