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A general overview and comprehensive discussion of this topic may be found in the article Liberalism.

In general, liberalism in Europe is a political movement that supports a broad tradition of individual liberties and constitutionally-limited and democratically accountable government. These European derivatives of classical liberalism are found in centrist movements and parties as well as some parties on the centre-left and the centre-right.

When liberalism is divided into two in Europe, it is largely into "social" and "conservative".^[1] This is somewhat different from the American method of dividing liberalism into "modern" (simply liberal) and "classical" (or libertarian). Because most liberalism in Europe are classical liberalism. (European social liberalism and progressivism is rooted in radicalism, a left-wing classical liberal idea.)

European liberals usually support the federalisation of the EU.^[2]

Liberal practices

Emmanuel Macron, President of France, is often described as the strongest advocate for liberalism in Europe^[3]

Liberal political parties have specific policies, which the social scientist can either read from party manifestos, or infer from actual actions and laws passed by ostensibly liberal parties. The sources listed below serve to illustrate some of the current liberal attitudes in Europe.

the policies of liberal parties in government, including those in coalition arrangements (taking into mind that coalition partners make compromises), since they show what liberals are prepared to accept as well as the policies of liberal parties in opposition
the positions of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe faction in the European Parliament^[4] and the Electoral Manifestos of the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party.^[5]
the forum of the German FDP,^[6] which is relatively unmoderated, and illustrates grassroots liberal concerns. Sites of other Liberal parties, e.g. the British Liberal Democrats^[7] and the Netherlands' Democrats 66,^[8] are more heavily moderated and therefore more representative for the policy of liberal parties.
the Belgian website / think tank Liberales.be^[9] which has longer essays on new liberal policies
the views and policies of the Open Society Institute, since they explicitly claim to derive from the principles of a major liberal philosopher, Karl Popper.
the Lisbon Strategy of the European Union, since it is strongly supported by the liberal parties, and sets out a vision of a future Europe.

Additionally, liberal value preferences can be inferred from the liberalisation programmes and policies of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

The liberalism visible in these sources emphasizes in comparison with other ideologies more belief in individual development as a motor for society and the state providing a social safety net. The liberal policies differ from country to country and from party to party.

Ideology

European liberalism is largely divided into classical (practically economical), social, and conservative–liberalism.^[10]

Liberalism in Europe has a different meaning from the signification it has in contemporary politics in the US.^[11] In America, liberals might be confused with social-democrats and leftists which advocate for a larger government, some forms of protectionism and more economic interventionism;^[12]^[13]^[14]^[15] whereas European liberals usually favor limited government, free trade and adhere to economic liberalism.^[11] In the context of European politics, liberal itself generally refers to classical liberal (including both centre-left and centre-right), so classical liberal in European politics means a "centre-right" with a prominent economically liberal tendency. (Germany's FPD is representative.) There is also an evaluation that mainstream conservative liberal (ex. ordoliberalism, Christian democracy, enc.) in Europe have weaker economic liberal tendencies than social liberal.^[10] However, some classical liberal (economic liberal), are included in conservative liberal.^[16]^[17]

European Union

European liberalists tend to support the European Union^[18]^[19]^[20]^[21]^[22]^[23] such as Emmanuel Macron, President of France who campaigned against Marine Le Pen a National Rally candidate a far right nationalist anti EU party.^[24]^[25]^[26] Some European liberalists support Federalisation of the European Union such as prominent European Liberalist politicians such as Guy Verhofstadt (Prime Minister of Belgium 1999 to 2008),^[27]^[28] Viviane Reading (Vice-President of the European Commission),^[29] and Matteo Renzi (Prime Minister of Italy 2014 to 2016).^[30]

Social issues

Among European liberals, "classical liberals" and "social liberals" support cultural liberalism (ex. LGBT rights issues including same-sex marriage, legalization of some drugs, opening immigration, etc.), but most "conservative liberals", including ordoliberals, Christian democrats and some agrarians, take a socially moderate-to-conservative stance on cultural liberalism. (Finland's Keskusta is representative.)^[31]^[32]

Parties

Government

Country	Parties	Head of State/Head of Government	Upper/ Lower House	Founded	Leader/Founder	Former Party	European/ International Affliction	Ideology/ Political Position
Belgium	Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats Flemish Open Vlaamse Liberalen en Democraten	Prime Minister Alexander De Croo	Chamber of Representatives (Lower House) 12 / 87 Senate (Upper House) 5 / 60 Coalition Open Vld MR sp.a PS CD&V Ecolo Groen	1992 (VLD) 2007 (Open VLD)	Leader Egbert Lachaert	Preceded By Party for Freedom and Progress	European Renew Europe Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) International Liberal International (LI)	Ideology Liberalism (Belgium)^[33]^[34] Conservative liberalism^[35]^[36] Pro-Europeanism^[18] Political Position Centre-right^[37]
Belgium	Reformist Movement French Mouvement Réformateur	N/A	Chamber of Representatives (Lower House) 14 / 87 Senate (Upper House) 8 / 60 Coalition Open Vld MR sp.a PS CD&V Ecolo Groen	21 March 2002	Leader Georges-Louis Bouchez	Preceded By Liberal Reformist Party Citizens' Movement for Change	European Renew Europe Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) International Liberal International (LI)	Ideology Liberalism (Belgium)^[34]^[38] Pro-Europeanism Political Position Centre-right^[39]^[40]
Croatia	Croatian People's Party – Liberal Democrats (HNS – LD) Croatian Hrvatska narodna stranka – Liberalni demokrati (HNS – LD)	N/A	Sabor 1 / 151 Coalition Croatian Democratic Union Independent Democratic Serb Party with support from HSLS, HDS, HDSSB, HNS, Reformists, Democratic Union of Hungarians, Kali Sara, Union of Albanians and Independents	13 October 1990	Leader Predrag Štromar Founder Savka Dabčević-Kučar	Preceded By Coalition of People's Accord	Regional Liberal South East European Network European Renew Europe Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE)	Ideology Social liberalism^[41] Pro-Europeanism^[19] Political Position Centre^[42] to centre-left^[43]
Finland	Centre Party Finnish Suomen Keskusta, Kesk Swedish Centern i Finland	Deputy Prime Minister Annika Saarikko	Parliament 31 / 200 European Parliament 2 / 14 Coalition Social Democratic Party Centre Party Green League Left Alliance Swedish People's Party	1906	Leader Annika Saarikko	Preceded by Annika Saarikko	European Renew Europe International Liberal International (LI)	Ideology Agrarianism^[44] Economic interventionism^[45] Conservative liberalism^[10] Political Position Centre^[44]^[46]^[47]
Finland	Swedish People's Party of Finland Swedish Svenska folkpartiet i Finland Finnish Suomen ruotsalainen kansanpuolue	N/A	Parliament 10 / 200 European Parliament 1 / 14 Coalition Social Democratic Party Centre Party Green League Left Alliance Swedish People's Party	1906	Leader Anna-Maja Henriksson Founder Axel Lille Axel Olof Freudenthal	Preceded by Svecoman movement	European Renew Europe Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) International Liberal International (LI)	Ideology Swedish-speaking minority interests^[48] Liberalism (Finland)^[49]^[50] Pro-Europeanism^[20] Political Position Centre^[51]
France	La République En Marche!	President Emmanuel Macron Prime Minister Jean Castex	National Assembly (Lower House) 280 / 577 Senate (Upper House) 23 / 348 European Parliament 11 / 79 Coalition LREM MoDem MR Agir TDP	6 April 2016	Leader Stanislas Guerini Founder Emmanuel Macron		European Renew Europe	Ideology Liberalism (France) Classical liberalism Pro-Europeanism Political Position Centre
France	Agir	Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs Franck Riester	National Assembly (Lower House) 11 / 577 Senate (Upper House) 6 / 348 European Parliament 1 / 79 Coalition LREM MoDem MR Agir TDP	6 April 2016	Leader Franck Riester		European Renew Europe	Ideology Conservative liberalism Christian democracy Pro-Europeanism Political Position Centre-right^[52]^[53]
Germany	Free Democratic Party	Secretary of the Treasury Christian Lindner	Bundestag 92 / 736 State Parliaments 134 / 1,884 European Parliament 5 / 95 Coalition SPD Grüne FPD	6 April 2016	Chairman Christian Lindner General Secretary Volker Wissing		European Renew Europe	Ideology Liberalism (Germany) Classical liberalism Conservative liberalism^[54] Pro-Europeanism Political Position Centre to centre-right
Italy	Go Italy Italian Forza Italia	N/A	Chamber of Deputies (Lower House) 79 / 630 Senate of the Republic (Upper House) 50 / 315 European Parliament 9 / 76	16 November 2013	Leader Silvio Berlusconi Founder Silvio Berlusconi		European European People's Party (EPP)	Ideology Liberalism (Italy) Liberal conservatism Conservative liberalism^[55] Berlusconism Political Position Centre-right
Portugal	Liberal Initiative Portuguese Iniciativa Liberal	N/A	Parliement 8 / 230	13 December 2017	Leader João Cotrim de Figueiredo Founder Alexandre Krauss Bruno Horta Soares Rodrigo Dias Saraiva (and others)		European Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party (ALDE)	Ideology Liberalism (Portugal) Classical liberalism Right-libertarianism Pro-Europeanism Political Position Centre-right

Notes

^ "Content". Parties and Elections in Europe. 2020.
^ "Our Policies". Volt Europa. Retrieved 2020-09-19.
^ "Emmanuel Macron, the resolutely modern philosopher king". The Economist. 2018-06-13. ISSN 0013-0613. Retrieved 2019-03-21.
^ ALDE Group in the European Parliament : Home^{[permanent dead link]}
^ European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party Manifestos
^ "FDP :: FDP Bundesverband". Forum.fdp-bundesverband.de. Archived from the original on 2012-04-26. Retrieved 2012-04-27.
^ "Liberal Democrats : Home". Libdems.org.uk. 2012-04-20. Retrieved 2012-04-27.
^ "democrats.nl". democrats.nl. Retrieved 2012-04-27.
^ "Liberales". Liberales.be. 2004-12-01. Retrieved 2012-04-27.
^ ^a ^b ^c Caroline Close (2019). "The liberal party family ideology: Distinct, but diverse". In Close, Caroline; van Haute, Emilie (eds.). Liberal Parties in Europe. Routledge. pp. 338–339. ISBN 9781351245487.
^ ^a ^b Goldfarb, Michael (2010-07-20). "Liberal? Are we talking about the same thing?". BBC News. Retrieved 2020-08-06.
^ Greenberg, David (September 12, 2019). "The danger of confusing liberals and leftists". Washington Post. Retrieved 2020-08-06.
^ N. Scott Arnold, ed. (31 May 2011). "Are Modern American Liberals Socialists or Social Democrate?". Cambridge University Press. Retrieved 15 January 2022. This paper answers the title question, “Yes,” on both counts. The first part of the paper argues that modern liberals are socialists, and the second part argues that they are also social democrats.
^ "A plea for liberalism: Lessons from the 20th century". The Economist. 31 March 2010. Retrieved 15 January 2022. Social democracy, which Tony Judt calls “the prose of European politics”, is what Americans call liberalism.
^ Herb Jackson, ed. (27 June 2018). "How Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez won: Ultra-liberal pitch drew first-time voters in changing district". USA Today. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
^ R.T. Allen, Beyond Liberalism, p. 2.
^ Paul Kelly, ed. (2005). Liberalism. Polity. p. 71. ISBN 9780745632902. Conservative liberal critics of social justice, such as Friedrich Hayek, have sought to reject precisely this distinction.
^ ^a ^b Almeida, Dimitri (2012-04-27). The Impact of European Integration on Political Parties. Routledge. doi:10.4324/9780203123621. ISBN 978-0-203-12362-1.
^ ^a ^b Gladoic, Andrea (14 June 2018). "Croatia's Largest Political Parties". Expat in Croatia. Retrieved 12 October 2018.
^ ^a ^b RKP, SFP (2019). "SFP:s Riksdag ValsProgram 2019". SFP. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
^ "Emmanuel Macron a Berlin pour se donner une stature européenne". Le Monde. 10 January 2017. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
^ Edwards, Maxim (13 December 2018). "Armenia's Revolution Will Not be Monopolized". Foreign Policy. Bright Armenia is an avowedly pro-EU and classical liberal political party...
^ "Fayrer, Sir John (Lang Macpherson), (18 Oct. 1944–9 March 2017)". Who's Who. Oxford University Press. 2007-12-01. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.u15557. Retrieved 2020-10-15.^{[dead link]}
^ Macron, Emmanuel (2018). "Discours du Président de la République, Emmanuel Macron, à l'occasion de la remise du Prix Charlemagne de la ville d'Aix-la-Chapelle le 10 mai 2018". Allemagne d'aujourd'hui. 224 (2): 17. doi:10.3917/all.224.0017. ISSN 0002-5712.
^ Le Breton, Morgane (2017). "Ce qui est bon pour Enron est bon pour le climat". Entreprises et histoire. 86 (1): 151. doi:10.3917/eh.086.0151. ISSN 1161-2770.
^ "Graphique 4.2. Une consolidation budgétaire plus ambitieuse accroît la croissance potentielle". dx.doi.org. doi:10.1787/888932612306. Retrieved 2020-10-15.
^ Bruno Waterfield (18 February 2009). "Blueprint for EU army to be agreed". The Telegraph. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
^ "International news – euronews, latest international news". Archived from the original on 6 February 2012. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
^ Europa – Press Release – Why we need a United States of Europe now
^ "Italy to push for 'United States of Europe' when it holds the EU presidency". The Telegraph. 22 June 2014. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
^ "Väyrynen ryöpyttää keskustan liberaaleja". Kaleva.fi. Archived from the original on 1 October 2011. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
^ Cracking open the numbers in the same-sex marriage vote Archived 3 December 2014 at the Wayback Machine, YLE 28 November 2014, accessed 5 November 2014.
^ Bartley, Robert L. (2019-06-10). "Liberalism 1976: A Conservative Critique". The Relevance of Liberalism. Routledge. pp. 61–96. doi:10.4324/9780429304316-3. ISBN 978-0-429-30431-6. S2CID 199340153. Retrieved 2020-10-13.
^ ^a ^b Close, Caroline; Delwit, Pascal (2019). "Liberal parties and elections". Liberal Parties in Europe. Party families in Europe. Abingdon, Oxon ; New York: Routledge. pp. 281–309. doi:10.4324/9781351245500-15. ISBN 978-1-351-24550-0. S2CID 158839366. Retrieved 2020-10-13.
^ Slomp, Hans (2011). Europe, a political profile : an American companion to European politics. Volume 1. Slomp, Hans, 1945-. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-0-313-39182-8. OCLC 759986337.
^ Starke, Peter (2013). The welfare state as crisis manager : explaining the diversity of policy responses to economic crisis. Kaasch, Alexandra; Hooren, Franca van. Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-1-137-31484-0. OCLC 844063308.
^ Josep M. Colomer (2008). Comparative European Politics. Taylor & Francis. p. 220. ISBN 978-0-203-12362-1.
^ Hay, Colin; Menon, Anand, eds. (2007). European politics. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-928428-3. OCLC 71541592.
^ Colomer, Josep Maria, ed. (2008). Comparative European politics (3rd ed.). London: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-43755-4. OCLC 182716576.
^ Gingrich, André; Banks, Marcus, eds. (2006). Neo-nationalism in Europe and beyond : perspectives from social anthropology. New York: Berghahn Books. ISBN 978-1-78238-611-7. OCLC 607904369.
^ Close, Caroline (12 February 2019). "The liberal party family ideology: Distinct, but diverse". In Close, Caroline; van Haute, Emilie (eds.). Liberal Parties in Europe. Routledge. p. 339. ISBN 9781351245487.
^ Gladoic, Andrea (14 June 2018). "Croatia's Largest Political Parties". Expat in Croatia. Retrieved 12 October 2018.
^ "Key Political Parties in Croatia". Balkan Insight. 27 September 2010.
^ ^a ^b Nordsieck, Wolfram (2015). "Finland". Parties and Elections in Europe. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014.
^ "Väyrynen ryöpyttää keskustan liberaaleja". Kaleva.fi. Archived from the original on 1 October 2011. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
^ Josep M. Colomer (2008). Political Institutions in Europe. Routledge. p. 260. ISBN 978-1-134-07354-2.
^ Andrews Nordlund (2007). "Nordic social politics in the late twentieth century: An analysis of the political reform agenda". In Nanna Kildal; Stein Kuhnle (eds.). Normative Foundations of the Welfare State: The Nordic Experience. Routledge. p. 74. ISBN 978-1-134-27283-9.
^ Nordsieck, Wolfram (2019). "Finland". Parties and Elections in Europe. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
^ Bergqvist, Christina (1999). Equal Democracies?: Gender and Politics in the Nordic Countries. Nordic Council of Ministers. p. 319. ISBN 978-82-00-12799-4.
^ Juvonen, Tuula (2016-05-01). "Out and Elected: Political Careers of Openly Gay and Lesbian Politicians in Germany and Finland". Redescriptions: Political Thought, Conceptual History and Feminist Theory. 19 (1): 49. doi:10.7227/R.19.1.4. ISSN 2308-0914.
^ Lane, Jan-Erik; Ersson, Svante (2008). Josep M. Colomer (ed.). The Nordic Countries: Compromise and Corporatism in the Welfare State. Political Institutions in Europe. Routledge. p. 260. ISBN 978-1-134-07354-2.
^ Barbière, Cécile (17 September 2018). "La droite pro-européenne fait officiellement sécession avec Agir" [The pro-European right officially breaks away with Agir]. EURACTIV (in French).
^ Chazan, David (26 November 2017). "New centre-right party launches in France". The Daily Telegraph.
^ Slomp, Hans (2011). Europe, a Political Profile: An American Companion to European Politics. ABC-CLIO. p. 377. ISBN 978-0-313-39181-1.
^ Agnes Blome (2016). The Politics of Work-Family Policy Reforms in Germany and Italy. Taylor & Francis. p. 142. ISBN 978-1-317-55436-3.

v t e Liberalism in Europe
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