Former Belgian prime minister Guy Verhofstadt was elected unopposed on Tuesday as the new leader of the Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) in the European Parliament, the party group announced.

Diana Wallis of the British Liberal Democratic Party, who had been a contender for the ALDE leadership, withdrew her candidaturein favor of Verhofstadt.

Verhofstadt proposed to the group that Wallis be one of the candidates for the vice president of the European Parliament. Verhofstadt's proposal won unanimous support of the ALDE group.

Verhofstadt thanked the group membership for their unanimous support and singled out outgoing leader Graham Watson for his excellent job over the last seven and a half years.

He expressed his conviction that a coherent and united ALDE group can be a major force in EU decision making over the years ahead which present a number of significant challenges.

"Europe is not the problem but the solution to the problems facing Europe at the moment. We need more, not less Europe," he said.

Verhofstadt immediately convened a meeting of the group for Wednesday morning to discuss a common position on the nomination of Jose Manuel Barroso as European Commission president for a second term.

The liberal-centralist ALDE is the third largest political group in the European Parliament.

Source: Xinhua