Gareth Gregan charts the complex and often contentious path to the creation of the Youth of the European People’s Party (YEPP), officially founded in Brussels in early 1997. He retraces the origins of its two predecessor organisations—the European Young Christian Democrats and the Democratic Youth Community of Europe—highlighting how overlapping goals, diverging ideologies,and competing visions of European integration led to both cooperation and friction. Through detailed accounts of negotiations, internal rifts and pivotal leadership from figures such as Klaus Welle and Fredrik Reinfeldt, Gregan shows how the project overcame long-standing divides between Christian Democratic and conservative youth groups. The chapter also explores the broader political context of the 1990s, including the EPP’s strategic evolution and the need for a unified youth voice reflecting an expanded European centre–right. With rich historical detail, Gregan captures how YEPP’s founding marked not just an organisational merger, but the birth of a more inclusive, modern and representative youth wing for the EPP.