Lib Dems hold balance of power in European Parliament

11.20.00am GMT Mon 8th Feb 2010

UK Lib Dem MEPs belong to the key ALDE group in the European Parliament

An independent analysis of the EU has revealed that the ALDE, the Lib Dem group of MEPs, holds the balance of power in the European Parliament.

VoteWatch, a website set up to monitor the legislative processes of the EU, found that because no political party has a majority, the 84-strong Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe, to which the UK Liberal Democrats belong, are on the winning side of more than 90% of all votes taken in the European Parliament.

South East England MEP Sharon Bowles said "As the chair of the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee, I see how important the European Parliament is in shaping legislation."

"Since the New Year began, my committee has interviewed four new European Commissioners and tabled thousands of amendments for proposed legislation that will repair the damage done to the economy by greed and systemic risk."

"This VoteWatch report has confirmed the important position the Liberal Democrats have in the European Parliament and of the role we play in law-making."

The VoteWatch report also reveals that UKIP and British Conservative MEPs are the least likely to win votes in the European Parliament.