Party of the European Left Partei der Europäischen Linken Parti de la Gauche Européenne Partito della Sinistra Europea Partido de la Izquierda Europea Partido da Esquerda Europeia Κόμμα Ευρωπαϊκής Αριστεράς Avrupa Sol Partisi Il-Partit Ewropew tax-Xellug | |
---|---|
Abbreviation | PEL |
President | Walter Baier (AT) |
Leader in the EP | Martin Schirdewan (DE) |
Founded | 8–9 May 2004 ; 19 years ago |
Headquarters | Square de Meeûs 25, 1000 Brussels, Belgium |
Think tank | Transform Europe |
Women's wing | EL-Fem |
Ideology | |
Political position | Left-wing to far-left |
European Parliament group | The Left in the European Parliament – GUE/NGL |
Colours | Dark red |
European Parliament | 28 / 705 |
European Council | 0 / 28 |
European Lower Houses | 344 / 9,874 |
European Upper Houses | 27 / 2,714 |
Website | |
www | |
The Party of the European Left (PEL), or European Left (EL), is a European political party that operates as an association of democratic socialist and communist political parties in the European Union and other European countries. It was formed in January 2004 for the purposes of running in the 2004 European Parliament elections. The PEL was founded on 8–9 May 2004 in Rome. The elected MEPs from member parties of the PEL sit in The Left in the European Parliament – GUE/NGL group in the European Parliament, though not all PEL members are also members of GUE/NGL.
Several member and observer parties participate also in the more radical European Anti-Capitalist Left. Before the PEL was founded, most of its members already held annual meetings together, as part of the New European Left Forum (NELF). [2] The current president is the Austrian politician Walter Baier.
The Party of European Left (PEL) was formed on 8 and 9 May 2004 in Rome, Italy. [3] [4] The party's first congress took place on 8 October 2005 in Athens, and produced the Athens Declaration of the European Left. The second congress was held 23–25 November 2007 in Prague. [5] The third congress was held on 2–5 December 2010 in Paris. [6] [7] [8] Its fourth congress was held on 13–15 December 2013 in Madrid. [9] Its fifth congress took place on 16–18 December 2016 in Berlin, [10] and elected German lawyer and politician Gregor Gysi as the new PEL President. [11] Heinz Bierbaum was elected president in 2019. [12] [13] He was succeeded by Walter Baier in December 2022. [14]
It operates a think tank, Transform Europe, and it has women's wing named EL-Fem. [15] [16]
PEL has been described as a left-wing [17] [18] and a far-left [19] [20] political party. Its ideology is based on principles of democratic socialism, [21] [22] socialism, [23] and communism. [21] [22] [23] It is opposed to capitalism and consists of parties with wide range of opinions. [23] [24] : 46 PEL is also supportive of progressivism. [24] : 50
It takes a soft Eurosceptic approach towards the European Union, [25] and opposes militarization and foreign interventionism. [24] : 53 PEL opposed the Iraq War and War in Afghanistan, and criticised the oppression of 2009 Iranian presidential election protests. [24] : 53 It is also opposed to NATO and United States military bases. [24] : 54 It supports Cuba, and a delegation visited the nation in February 2022. [26]
In an interview with the political magazine Jacobin , Walter Baier, the president of PEL, described PEL as part of the "socialist left" and criticised the European Union, stating that it is neoliberal and "closer to enlightened absolutism than parliamentary democracy". [27]
The Party of the European Left consists of member parties with full rights, observer parties, individual members and EL partners. [28] As of March 2023, The Party of the European Left has 25 member parties in 23 countries. [29] Not all members of PEL are members of The Left in the European Parliament – GUE/NGL group in the European Parliament. [23] [30]
Country | Party | National MPs | European MEPs | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Austria | Communist Party of Austria | 0 / 183 (National Council) | 0 / 18 | |
0 / 62 (Federal Council) | ||||
Belarus | Belarusian Left Party "A Just World" | 0 / 110 (House of Representatives) | Not in the EU | |
0 / 64 (Council of the Republic) | ||||
Belgium | Communists of Wallonia-Brussels | – | – | |
Bulgaria | Bulgarian Left | 0 / 240 | 0 / 17 | |
Croatia | Workers' Front | 0 / 151 | 0 / 12 | |
Czech Republic | The Left | 0 / 200 (Chamber of Deputies) | 0 / 21 | |
0 / 81 (Senate) | ||||
Denmark | Red–Green Alliance | 9 / 179 | 1 / 14 | |
Estonia | Estonian United Left Party | 0 / 101 | 0 / 7 | |
Finland | Communist Party of Finland | 0 / 200 | 0 / 13 | |
France | French Communist Party | 12 / 577 (National Assembly) | 0 / 74 | |
14 / 348 (Senate) | ||||
Germany | The Left | 28 / 736 (Bundestag) | 5 / 96 | |
4 / 69 (Bundesrat) | ||||
Greece | Syriza | 36 / 300 | 2 / 21 | |
Hungary | Workers' Party of Hungary 2006 – European Left | 0 / 199 | 0 / 21 | |
Italy | Communist Refoundation Party | 0 / 400 (Chamber of Deputies) | 0 / 73 | |
0 / 200 (Senate) | ||||
Luxembourg | The Left | 2 / 60 | 0 / 6 | |
Moldova | Party of Communists of the Republic of Moldova | 8 / 101 | Not in the EU | |
Portugal | Left Bloc | 5 / 230 | 2 / 21 | |
Romania | Romanian Socialist Party | 0 / 330 (Chamber of Deputies) | 0 / 33 | |
0 / 136 (Senate) | ||||
Slovenia | The Left | 5 / 90 | 0 / 8 | |
Spain | United Left | 5 / 350 (Congress of Deputies) | 2 / 54 | |
0 / 266 (Senate of Spain) | ||||
Communist Party of Spain | 5 / 350 (Congress of Deputies) [lower-alpha 1] | |||
0 / 266 (Senate of Spain) | ||||
United and Alternative Left | 0 / 47 (Congress of Deputies; Catalan seats) | 0 / 54 | ||
0 / 23 (Senate of Spain; Catalan seats) | ||||
Switzerland | Swiss Party of Labour | 0 / 200 (National Council) | Not in the EU | |
0 / 46 (Council of States) | ||||
Turkey | Left Party | 0 / 600 | Not in the EU | |
United Kingdom | Left Unity | 0 / 650 (House of Commons) | Not in the EU | |
0 / 784 (House of Lords) |
Country | Party | National MPs | European MEPs | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Belgium | Demain | – | – | |
Cyprus | Cyprus | Progressive Party of Working People | 15 / 56 | 2 / 6 |
Northern Cyprus | New Cyprus Party | 0 / 50 | De facto not in the EU | |
United Cyprus Party | 0 / 50 | De facto not in the EU | ||
Czech Republic | Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia | 0 / 200 (Chamber of Deputies) | 1 / 21 | |
0 / 81 (Senate) | ||||
Finland | Left Alliance | 11 / 200 | 1 / 14 | |
France | La France Insoumise | 69 / 577 (National Assembly) | 5 / 79 | |
0 / 348 (Senate) | ||||
Republican and Socialist Left | 0 / 577 (National Assembly) | 1 / 79 | ||
1 / 348 (Senate) | ||||
Italy | Italian Left | 4 / 400 | 0 / 73 | |
3 / 200 | ||||
Slovakia | Communist Party of Slovakia | 0 / 150 | 0 / 13 | |
Spain | Sortu | 1 / 23 (Congress of Deputies; Basque seats) | 1 / 54 | |
1 / 20 (Senate of Spain; Basque seats) | ||||
Country | Party | National MPs | European MEPs |
---|---|---|---|
Austria | Der Wandel | 0 / 183 (National Council) | 0 / 62 |
0 / 18 (Federal Council) | |||
France | Ensemble! | 5 / 577 (National Assembly) | 0 / 74 |
0 / 348 (Senate) | |||
République et Socialisme | – | – | |
Germany | Marxistische Linke | – | – |
Hungary | Táncsics – Radical Left Party | 0 / 199 | 0 / 21 |
United Kingdom ( Scotland only) | Democratic Left Scotland | – | Not in the EU |
Country | Party | Notes |
---|---|---|
Belgium | Communist Party | Stopped working as a Party in 2009, since December 2013 not listed as a Member. |
Communist Party of Belgium | Resignation decided at the party congress on 30 July 2018. [31] | |
Czech Republic | Party of Democratic Socialism | Merged into The Left in 2020. |
France | Left Party | Left the EL on 1 July 2018. |
Unitary Left | Merged with the French Communist Party in Fall 2015. | |
Germany | German Communist Party | Ended its observer status on 27 February 2016. [32] |
Greece | Renewing Communist Ecological Left | Merged into Syriza in 2013. |
Hungary | Hungarian Workers' Party | Quit 1 May 2009. |
Italy | Party of Italian Communists | Dissolved in December 2014, which meant that the "observer status" was lost. |
The Other Europe | Dissolved in 2019, which meant that the "observer status" was lost. | |
Poland | Young Socialists | Dissolved in 2015, which meant that the "observer status" was lost. |
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