Party of the European Left
Template:Short description Template:EngvarB Template:Use dmy dates
Script error: No such module "Infobox".Template:Template otherScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 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. The current president is the Austrian politician Walter Baier.
History
Before the PEL was founded, most of its members already held annual meetings together, as part of the New European Left Forum (NELF).[1] Several member and observer parties also participated in the more radical European Anti-Capitalist Left.
The Party of European Left (PEL) was formed on 8 and 9 May 2004 in Rome, Italy.[2][3] 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.[4] The third congress was held on 2–5 December 2010 in Paris.[5][6][7] Its fourth congress was held on 13–15 December 2013 in Madrid.[8] Its fifth congress took place on 16–18 December 2016 in Berlin,[9] and elected German lawyer and politician Gregor Gysi as the new PEL President.[10] Heinz Bierbaum was elected president in 2019.[11][12] He was succeeded by Walter Baier in December 2022.[13]
It operates a think tank, Transform Europe, and it has women's wing named EL-Fem.[14][15]
In 2024, the Danish member Red-Green Alliance (Enhedlisten) announced the schism of the party and the formation of a socially liberal (green- and pro-Ukraine leaning) European Left Alliance for the People and the Planet, in short ELA. The split follows the split of socially liberal Die Linke and socially conservative BSW in Germany, and the creation of a separate platform for the 2024 European elections, Now the People.[16]
Ideology
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]Template:Rp PEL is also supportive of progressivism.[24]Template:Rp
It takes a soft Eurosceptic approach towards the European Union,[25] and opposes militarization and foreign interventionism.[24]Template:Rp PEL opposed the Iraq War and War in Afghanistan, and criticised the oppression of 2009 Iranian presidential election protests.[24]Template:Rp It is also opposed to NATO and United States military bases.[24]Template:Rp 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]
Leadership
- President: Fausto Bertinotti (2004–2007), Lothar Bisky (2007–2010), Pierre Laurent (2010–2016), Gregor Gysi (2016–2019), Heinz Bierbaum (2019–2022), Walter Baier (2022–present)
- Leader in the European Parliament: Francis Wurtz (2004–2009), Lothar Bisky (2009–2012), Gabi Zimmer (2012–2019), Martin Schirdewan (2019–present)
Membership
The Party of the European Left consists of member parties with full rights, observer parties, individual members and EL partners.[28] As of October 2024, The Party of the European Left has 24 member parties in 21 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]
Full members
Observer members
| Country | Party | National MPs | European MEPs | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Template:Country data Belgium | Template:Ill | – | – | |
| Template:Country data Cyprus | Progressive Party of Working People | Template:Composition bar | Template:Composition bar | |
| Template:Country data Northern Cyprus | New Cyprus Party | – | De facto not in the EU | |
| United Cyprus Party | – | |||
| Template:Country data Czech Republic | Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia | Template:Composition bar(Chamber of Deputies) | Template:Composition bar | |
| Template:Composition bar(Senate) | ||||
| Template:Country data Italy | Italian Left | Template:Composition bar | Template:Composition bar | |
| Template:Composition bar | ||||
| Template:Country data Slovakia | Communist Party of Slovakia | – | – | |
| Template:Country data Spain | Sortu | Template:Composition bar(Congress of Deputies; Basque seats) | Template:Composition bar | |
| Template:Composition bar(Senate of Spain; Basque seats) | ||||
| Template:Country data United Kingdom | Transform Party | – | Not in the EU | |
EL Partners
| Country | Party | National MPs | European MEPs | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Template:Country data Austria | Der Wandel | – | – | |
| Left | – | – | ||
| Template:Country data France | Ensemble! | – | – | |
| République et Socialisme | – | – | ||
| Template:Country data Germany | Marxistische Linke | – | – | |
| Template:Country data Hungary | Táncsics – Radical Left Party | – | – | |
| Yes Solidarity for Hungary Movement | – | – | ||
| Template:Country data Serbia | Solidarnost | – | Not in the EU | |
| Template:Country data United Kingdom | Template:Country data Scotland | Democratic Left Scotland | – | Not in the EU |
| Socialists for the Independence | – | |||
Former members
| Country | Party | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Template:Country data 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] | |
| Template:Country data Czech Republic | Party of Democratic Socialism | Merged into The Left in 2020. |
| Template:Country data Denmark | Red–Green Alliance | Left the EL in 2024. |
| Template:Country data Finland | Left Alliance | Delisted from the EL website in 2024. |
| Template:Country data France | Left Party | Left the EL on 1 July 2018. |
| Unitary Left | Merged with the French Communist Party in 2015. | |
| La France Insoumise | Member until 2018, observer until 2024 | |
| Template:Country data Germany | German Communist Party | Ended its observer status on 27 February 2016.[32] |
| Template:Country data Greece | Renewing Communist Ecological Left | Merged into Syriza in 2013. |
| Template:Country data Hungary | Hungarian Workers' Party | Quit 1 May 2009. |
| Template:Country data 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. | |
| Template:Country data Poland | Young Socialists | Dissolved in 2015, which meant that the "observer status" was lost. |
| Template:Country data Portugal | Left Bloc | Quit 22 June 2024.[33] |
Representation in European institutions
| Organisation | Institution | Number of seats |
|---|---|---|
| Script error: No such module "flag". | European Parliament | Template:EUPP data |
| European Commission | Template:EUPP data | |
| European Council (Heads of Government) |
Template:EUPP data | |
| Council of the European Union (Participation in Government) |
||
| Committee of the Regions | Template:EUPP data | |
| Template:Country data Council of Europe (as part of Template:Wikidata) | Parliamentary Assembly | Template:Composition barTemplate:Wikidata |
See also
- European Anti-Capitalist Left
- European United Left–Nordic Green Left
- Initiative of Communist and Workers' Parties
- List of communist parties represented in European Parliament
- Nordic Green Left Alliance
- Now the People
- Unified European Left Group
- European political party
- Authority for European Political Parties and European Political Foundations
- European political foundation
Notes
References
External links
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Template:Party of the European Left Template:European political parties Template:Political organisations at European Union level Template:Authority control
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- ↑ Pourquoi le PCB a quitté le Parti de la Gauche Européenne (PGE) — Official statement on the party website.
- ↑ ELP-Beobachterstatus beendet – Bericht vom 3. Tag des XXI. Parteitag der DKP. Newswebsite of the Deutschen Kommunistischen Partei (DKP).
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