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
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.
History
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]
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.[17]
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".[28]
The Party of the European Left consists of member parties with full rights, observer parties, individual members and EL partners.[29] As of October 2024, The Party of the European Left has 24 member parties in 21 countries.[30] Not all members of PEL are members of The Left in the European Parliament – GUE/NGL group in the European Parliament.[24][31]
^The number of MEPs listed below may not match the total number of MEPs of the European party, as it does not include MEPs who join as individual members.
^4 of the deputies of the Communist Party of Spain are also members of United Left
