Polish MEP Ryszard Legutko has been elected ECR Group Co-Chairman to serve alongside leader Syed Kamall. The creation of the Group's first co-chairmanship is intended to assist the transitional period of the UK exiting the EU and beyond.

Mr Kamall said: "I congratulate Professor Legutko on his election as Co-Chairman of the ECR Group. I look forward to working with Professor Legutko and other ECR Group members over the next 21 months in order to continue the ECR's important work in helping to reform the European Union, and ensuring a smooth transition in the run up to the UK's departure from the EU.”

Mr Legutko who was elected unopposed, said: “I see this decision as a sign of trust as well as appreciation for the work performed by our delegation since the foundation of our group in 2009. I hope that the ECR Group will maintain its strong position in the European Parliament and will become the main eurorealist force in the European Parliament in the next term.”

Ryszard Legutko has been a Member of the European Parliament since 2009, a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee and head of the Polish Law and Justice Delegation. Until now he worked as the ECR Group Vice-Chairman.

He served as the Minister of Education, Secretary of State in the Chancellery of the late President Lech Kaczynski, and Deputy Speaker of the Senate and had been active in the anti-communist movement in Poland.

Ryszard Legutko is a professor of philosophy at Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland, specializing in ancient philosophy and political theory.

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Contact: Jan Krelina, +32493214346, jan.krelina@europarl.europa.eu

The ECR was created to take the EU in a new direction, according to the principles of our founding Prague Declaration. It is the third largest group in the European Parliament with 74 MEPs from 18 EU states.

For more information on the ECR, watch our promotional video at http://youtu.be/F5syQt1JuQI or visit our website: www.ecrgroup.eu