title: Parties in the European Council during 2009
text: # Parties in the European Council during 2009
  
  This article describes the party affiliations of leaders of each member-state represented in the European Council during the year 2009. 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 2009 | 1 January 2009 | 12 March 2009 | 12 March 2009 | 14 April 2009 | 14 April 2009 | 16 April 2009 | 16 April 2009 | 8 May 2009 | 8 May 2009 | 27 July 2009 | 27 July 2009 | 6 October 2009 | 6 October 2009 |
  | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
  | Party | # | QMV | # | QMV | # | QMV | # | QMV | # | QMV | # | QMV | # | QMV |
  | European People's Party | 11 | 182 | 12 | 186 | 12 | 186 | 12 | 186 | 12 | 186 | 13 | 196 | 12 | 184 |
  | Party of European Socialists | 8 | 111 | 8 | 111 | 7 | 99 | 7 | 99 | 7 | 99 | 6 | 89 | 7 | 101 |
  | European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party | 4 | 22 | 3 | 18 | 3 | 18 | 4 | 25 | 4 | 25 | 4 | 25 | 4 | 25 |
  | Movement for European Reform | 1 | 12 | 1 | 12 | 1 | 12 | 1 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
  | Independent | 1 | 7 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 19 | 2 | 19 | 3 | 31 | 3 | 31 | 3 | 31 |
  | Alliance for Europe of the Nations | 1 | 7 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
  | Party of the European Left | 1 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 4 |
  
  ## List of leaders (1 January 2009)
  
  | Member-state | Votes | Leader | National party | European party |
  | - | - | - | - | - |
  | Germany | 29 | Angela Merkel | CDU | EPP |
  | United Kingdom | 29 | Gordon Brown | Lab | PES |
  | France | 29 | Nicolas Sarkozy | UMP | EPP |
  | Italy | 29 | Silvio Berlusconi | FI | EPP |
  | Spain | 27 | José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero | PSOE | PES |
  | Poland | 27 | Donald Tusk | PO | EPP |
  | 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 | Herman Van Rompuy | CD&V | EPP |
  | Hungary | 12 | Ferenc Gyurcsány | MSZP | PES |
  | Portugal | 12 | José Sócrates | PS | PES |
  | Sweden | 10 | Fredrik Reinfeldt | M | EPP |
  | Austria | 10 | Werner Faymann | SPÖ | PES |
  | 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 | Brian Cowen | FF | AEN |
  | Lithuania | 7 | Valdas Adamkus | Independent | Independent |
  | Latvia | 4 | Ivars Godmanis | LPP/LC | ELDR |
  | Slovenia | 4 | Borut Pahor | SD | PES |
  | Estonia | 4 | Andrus Ansip | RE | ELDR |
  | Cyprus | 4 | Demetris Christofias | AKEL | PEL |
  | Luxembourg | 4 | Jean-Claude Juncker | CSV | EPP |
  | Malta | 3 | Lawrence Gonzi | PN | EPP |
  
  ^ Supported by PD-L ^ AKEL holds only observer status with the Party of the European Left.
  
  ## Changes
  
  ### Affiliation
  
  | Date | Member-state | Leader | National party | European party |
  | - | - | - | - | - |
  | 12 March | Latvia | Valdis Dombrovskis | JL | EPP |
  | 14 April | Hungary | Gordon Bajnai | Independent | Independent |
  | 16 April | Ireland | Brian Cowen | FF | ELDR |
  | 8 May | Czech Republic | Jan Fischer | Independent | Independent |
  | 27 July | Bulgaria | Boyko Borisov | GERB | EPP |
  | 6 October | Greece | George Papandreou | PA.SO.K. | PES |
  
  ^ – Fianna Fáil, which held office under Brian Cowen, left the AEN and became an ELDR member.
  
  ### Office-holder only
  
  | Date | Member-state | Leader | National party | European party |
  | - | - | - | - | - |
  | 5 April | Denmark | Lars Løkke Rasmussen | V | ELDR |
  | 12 July | Lithuania | Dalia Grybauskaitė | Independent | Independent |
  | 25 November | Belgium | Yves Leterme | CD&V | EPP |
  
  ### National party changes
  
  * On 27 March, Berlusconi's Forza Italia merged with other parties to form The People of Freedom. The successor party continued Forza Italia's EPP membership.
  