WEST EUROPEAN CHRISTIAN DEMOCRATS AND TRANSNATIONAL COOPERATION

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP85T00287R000501330001-1
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 8
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 25, 2010
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: May 19, 1983
• Content Type: MEMO

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Central Intel{igence A~encv.
DIRECTORATE OF INTELLIGENCE
19 May 1983
West European Christian Democrats
and Transnational Cooperation
Summary
West European Christian Democratic and
conservative parties are working to expand
interparty links and to mobilize public opinion on
East-West and Third World problems. Their aim in
part is to create a counterweight to the Socialist
International on issues such as INF and Central
America. Their loose party structures, generally
non-dogmatic outlook, and support for European
integration create favorable preconditions for
collaboration. The Christian Democratic parties
lack the unifying force of a common ideology,
however, and their philosophical affinities with
secular conservatives are limited. As a result,
the transnational efforts of both groups are
dispersed among a patchwork of partially
overlapping European and global groupings.
The three leading interparty organizations
have differing memberships and purposes. The
activities of the Christian Democratic
International, until recently known as the World
Division
This memorandum was prepared by the Office
of European Analysis. It was requested by Gerald Helman, Deputy
Undersecretary for Political Affairs at the Department of
State. It was coordinated with the Office of African and Latin
American Analysis, the Office of East Asian Analysis, and the
Office of Global Issues. Research was completed on 6 May 1983.
Questions and comments may be addressed to Chief, European Issues
EUR M 83-10140
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i i
Union of Christian Democrats, are virtually
limited to sponsoring consultations among parties
from Latin America and Western Europe. The
European People's Party comprises the Christian
Democratic delegations in the European Parliament,
and focuses most attention on European issues.
The European Democratic Union tries to promote
cooperation between Conservatives and Christian
Democrats. The three groupings are generally
united on East-West issues and--to a lesser
extent--on Latin America. Their ideological and
institutional divisions, however, probably will
continue to limit their individual and combined
significance. 25X1
The Christian Democratic International
The Rome-based Christian Democratic International (CDI) is
the oldest but least active of the Christian Democratic
groupings. It has sponsored biannual congresses of party leaders
since 1961. Its West European affiliate, the European Union of
Christian Democrats (EUCD) formed in 1965, maintains a separate
secretariat in Brussels and sponsors frequent meetings of party
Aside from romotin consultations the CDI has enerall
been inactive.
Some Belgian, West German, and Latin American Christian
Democratic leaders are attempting to reinvigorate the CDI, but so
far without notable success. A congress in Quito last November
adopted the organization's present name and elected Andres
Zaldivar, a Chilean exile and former finance minister, as its
first non-European president. The US Embassy in Brussels,
however, reports that infighting among the European parties over
leadership positions apparently prevented serious consideration
of policy initiatives. Zaldivar has subsequently urged new
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efforts on Latin America, including a conference of all
democratic parties of the region. The assistant CDI president,
Andre Louis of Belgium, has told US officials he plans to
establish an information office in Brussels charged with
intensifying propaganda efforts regarding Central America in
particular. While we believe Latin American Christian Democrats
probably would welcome greater activism, most of their European
counterparts show little enthusiasm for intensified cooperation
under the aegis of the CDI. ~ 25X1
The European People's Party
The European People's Party (EPP) in our judgment has proved
to be a more effective forum for the eleven Christian Democratic
parties representing eight countries in the European
Parliament. Formed in 1976 to prepare for the first direct
elections to the Parliament, it comprises the Christian
Democratic delegation and aspires to become a single trans-
European party. According to the US Embassy in Brussels, the EPP
is considering a merger with the European Union of Christian
Democrats, with which it already has formal links, but will
remain separate from the Christian Democratic International. n
member parties. Its leadership includes a president (Belgian
Foreign Minister Tindemans}, six vice-presidents, a treasurer,
and a general secretary. A Political Bureau regulates finance,
coordinates European Parliament election campaigns, and issues
resolutions on EC issues. A smaller Executive Committee
implements the Bureau's decisions and supervises a small
Brussels-based secretariat. An EPP congress of national party
functionaries meets at least biannually. The EPP receives funds
from both the European Parliament delegation and the member
parties.
The.EPP's bureaucratic structure resembles that of its
}ba-~ peace with freedom, requires Western military strength. n
East-West relations have been the EPP's central
international concern. Even though it contains a party from
neutral Ireland, the EPP strongly backs security cooperation with
the United States. At its most recent congress last December, it
condemned Soviet expansionism and supported NATQ's dual-track
decision on INF. EPP President Tindemans has stressed repeatedly
Recently, the EPP has become more active on Third World
issues. In April 1983, it held a conference on Central America
and the Caribbean in Brussels in conjunction with Latin American
Christian Democrats. The conference established a permanent
contact group on Latin America headed by Mario Pedini of Italy
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and promised increased material support for the region's
Christian Democratic parties. It also urged the EC to increase
development assistance in close cooperation with the United
States. Substantive resolutions urged a peaceful dialogue among
democratic forces in E1 Salvador and the restoration of basic
freedoms in Nicaragua.
The focus of EPP activity, however, remains the European
Parliament. The Christian Democratic delegation is the
Parliament's second largest, and the four right-of-center
groupings--the EPP, Liberals, European Democrats (British and
Danish Conservatives), and Progressive Democrats (French
Gaullists and three smaller parties)--enjoy a clear majority.
While differences on national and European issues persist among
and within the delegations, Christian Democrats and their
Conservative allies generally present a united front on questions
of foreign policy and ideology. Elections to the European
Parliament in June 1984 will increase the visibility of the EPP
because it will campaign as an EC-wide party.
The European Democratic Union
The European Democratic Union (EDU) provides a broader forum
for Christian Democratic and Conservative contacts. Formed in
1978, the EDU grew from the desire of the West German Christian
Democratic Union and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian
Social Union, to strengthen ties with the French Gaullists and
British Tories, as well as with Christian Democratic parties
outside the European Community.
According to several academic studies, CSU leader Franz
Josef Strauss took the lead in pushing for the EDU's creation;
CDU chairman Helmut Kohl, while initially reluctant, decided to
support the new organization in order to prevent its excessive
rightward drift. The West German CDU leaders would have
preferred to expand the existing Christian Democratic groupings,
but other European Christian Democrats demurred. The Italians,
Dutch, and Belgians, who have strong confessional and labor ties
and a history of governing with socialists, rejected association
with the more rightwing and secular British Tories and. French
Gaullists. In addition, the French and British parties insisted
on upholding the distinctions be istian Democracy and
their own political traditions. 25X1
Unlike the EPP, the EDU regards itself as a "working
association" rather than a single party. Its bureaucratic
overhead is minimal. Its chairman, Austrian People's Party
President Alois Mock, oversees a small Vienna-based secretariat
funded by the member parties. The member parties contribute
research efforts and draft most osition papers. The national
party chairmen meet annually. 2sx1
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At first, the EDU's broad membership sometimes prevented
joint decisions. At the 1980 congress, the Finnish Christian
Democrats and the other parties failed to reach agreement on a
resolution specifically condemning the Soviet Union for its
invasion of Afghanistan. EDU leaders now attempt to accommodate
dissenters, however, and the last party leaders' congress in June
1982 ,published Finnish reservations to otherwise
resolutions on East-West relations and security. 25X1
should the Geneva negotiations fail.
Despite its neutral members, the EDU is outspokenly pro-
western and anti-Soviet. While leading an EDU delegation to
Washington last January, Mock denounced the concept of a "third
way" or equidistant policy between the superpowers and stressed
NATO's contribution to European peace. At the 1982 EDU congress,
Paris Mayor Chirac urged the creation of an independent West
European arms industry and the gradual extension of a French and
British nuclear guarantee to the rest of Western Europe, as well
as continued close security cooperation with the United States.
Resolutions adopted by the congress stressed the Soviet
ideological and military challenge and called for INF deployment
The EDU plans to expand its global contacts, but we believe
its influence outside Europe is likely to remain marginal. Last
year like-minded parties in Australia, New Zealand, and Japan
formed a Pacific Democratic Union; this July a prospective
International Democratic Union is scheduled to link parties in
Western Europe, the Pacific, and North America. As yet, however,
the EDU has found few allies in Latin America, Africa, or Asia.
Both its market-oriented economic policies and its emphasis on
~_a~t-West issues limit its appeal in most of the Third World.
25X1 25X1
Outlook
East-West relations are likely to remain the European
parties' leading international concern. They are also the area
in which the several groupings are most united. Conservative and
Christian Democratic leaders are already using the international
organizations in the struggle to generate public support for
INF. They probably will also intensify interparty contacts to
supplement official discussions of security and East-West
trade. In addition, the EDU is seeking closer ties with both
major US political parties in an effort to enhance American-West
European understanding and coordinate policy toward the East. ~
The two specifically Christian Democratic groupings, which.
generally support US objectives in Latin America, probably will
intensify their efforts in the region. They assert that common
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religious and political traditions form a solid basis for
successful collaboration. Informal interparty contacts, they
reason, can complement intergovernmental channels of
communication. In the case of Central America, European
Christian Democrats say they plan to use those supplemental
channels to promote the settlement of conflicts and respect for
human rights.
hamper international collaboration.
We believe that the groupings' activity and influence in
other areas are likely to remain limited. Christian Democracy's
European and religious focus restricts its appeal in most of
Africa and Asia. Conservatism, while theoretically more
adaptable, often contains strong nationalistic elements which
funding and activities among the several groupings, however will
c~inue~to restrict the party's European and global role.
Philosophical and strategic differences among the parties
probably will perpetuate the institutional divisions,
particularly between the exclusively Christian Democratic
groupings and the EDU. The Italian, Dutch, and Belgian Christian
Democrats remain skeptical of collaboration with the British
Conservatives and French Gaullists. Helmut Kohl's election as
West German Chancellor gives new prominence to the CDU/CSU, the
major link between the two camps. The dispersion of the Germans'
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G~Xl
Countr
Austria
Belgium
Membership in European Center-Right Party Organizations
CDI and
Party EtaCD EPP EDU
Switzerland
W. Germany
Demnark
Spain*
Britain
Greece
Italy
Ireland
Luxembourg
Malta
Norway
Netherlands
Portugal
San Marino
Sweden
Finland
Oesterreichische Volkspartei (OVP) X X
Christelijke Volkspartij (CVP) X X
Parti Social-~hretien (PSC) X X
Christliche Volkspartei (CVP) X X
Christlich~emokratische Union (CDU) X X X
Christlich-Soziale Union (CSU} X X X
Konservative Folkeparti X
Unio Democratica de Catalunya X
Partido Nacionalista Vasco (PNV) X
Centre des Democrates Sociaux (CDS) X X
Rassemblement pour la Republique (RPR} X
Conservative Party X
Nea Demokratia X
Democrazia Cristiana (DC) X X
Suedtiroler Volkspartei (SVP) X X
Fine Gael X X
Parti Chretien Social (PCS) X X
Partit nazzjonalista X X
Aoyre X
Christen-I~rokratisch Appel (CBA) X X
Centro Denacratioo Social X X
Partito Democratioo Cristiano Sammarinese X
M~oderata Samlingspartiet X
KansaIlinen Kokoanus X
Svenska Folkpartiet X
* Until its dissolution in early 1983, the Union de Centro Degnocratioo
belonged tD the Et7C9. According to press accounts, the new Partido Denacrata
Popular may apply for membership in the EtK~ and the CDI.
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25X1
Distribution: West European Christian Democrats and
Transnational Cooperation
Orig - Ambassador Gerald Helman, Deputy Undersecretary for
Political Affairs, State Dept.
1 - G. Philip Hughes, Office of the Vice President, EOB
1 - Luigi Einaudi, ARA/PPC, State Dept.
1 - Richard Haass, Bureau of European Affairs, State Dept.
1 - Robert Gelbard, Bureau of European Affairs, State Dept.
1 - David Lowenfeld, Office of the Undersecretary of
Political Affairs, State Dept.
1 - Edward Derwinski, Counselor, State Dept.
1 - Phil Kaplan, S/P, State Dept.
1 - John Kelly, Bureau of Public Affairs, State Dept.
1 - Steve Steiner, EUR/P, State Dept.
1 - Michael Marks, Office of the Undersecretary for. Science
and Technology, State Dept.
1 - Mark Palmer, EUR, State Dept.
1 - Scooter Libby, EA, State Dept.
10 - John Hamilton, Bureau of Inter-American Affairs,
State Dept.
1 - DDI
1 - ADDI
1 - DDI Registry
1 - ExDir
1 - NIO/WE
1 - ALA
1 - OEA
1 - OGI
4 - IMC/CB
1 - D/EURA
2 - EURA Prod
1 - EURA/EI
2 - EURA/EI/P5
DDI/EURA/EI/PS (19May83)
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