Political groups of the European Parliament Group" (which eventually became the S&D group), the "Christian Democrat Group" (later EPP group) and the "Liberals and Allies Group" (later ALDE group). As the Parliament developed, other Groups emerged. Gaullists from France founded the European Democratic Union Group. When Conservatives from Denmark and the United Kingdom joined, they created the European Conservatives Group, which (after some name changes) eventually merged with the Group of the European People's Party. The 1979 first direct election established further groups and the establishment of European political parties such as the European People's Party. A full breakdown of Groups by complexion and timeline is
Political groups of the European Parliament in the European Parliament's predecessor, the Common Assembly of the European Coal and Steel Community, and continued through the creation of the appointed Parliament in 1958 and the elected Parliament in 1979. Meanwhile, the national parties making up the Group were also organising themselves on a European level "outside" the Parliament, with the parties creating the "Confederation of Socialist Parties of the European Community" in 1974 and its successor, the "Party of European Socialists", in 1992. As a result, the Group (which had kept its "Socialist Group" name all along) was renamed to the "Group of the Party of European