The chairwoman of the Defense Committee, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, is leading the liberal Alde party family as the top candidate in the European elections. Delegates from the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats in Europe elected the FDP politician on Wednesday at a parliamentary group congress in Brussels, as the party announced on X. Strack-Zimmermann thanked the European Liberals for their unanimous nomination as the top candidate. “The Liberals are firmly anchored in the heart of Europe. We know that we fight together, not against each other,” she wrote on X. The FDP defense politician said she wanted to campaign for a Europe of security, prosperity and freedom the parliamentary group congress. “The European Union must become more independent and resilient. We must defend ourselves against the autocrats of the world – outside and within the European Union.”
Among the Liberals, there is not just one European party family, such as the Christian or Social Democrats. Both the FDP MPs and the Free Voters MPs in the EU Parliament are part of the liberal Renew parliamentary group. While the FDP belongs to Alde, the Free Voters joined the European Democratic Party in 2015.