The Party of the European Left (PEL), commonly abbreviated European Left, is a European political party that operates as an association of

democratic socialist Democratic socialism is a left-wing political philosophy that supports political democracy and some form of a socially owned economy, with a particular emphasis on economic democracy, workplace democracy, and workers' self-management within ...

and

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, ...

political parties in the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...

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 A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, it ...

from member parties of the PEL sit in The Left in the European Parliament – GUE/NGL group in the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the Legislature, legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven Institutions of the European Union, institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and in ...

. Several member and observer parties participate also in the more radical

European Anti-Capitalist Left The European Anti-Capitalist Left (EACL) is an informal network for left-wing and anti-capitalist parties in Europe. The EACL took part in the Europe against Austerity Conference in 2011 and 2012. Ideology Parties participating in the EACL ar ...

. Before the PEL was founded, most of its members already held annual meetings together, as part of the New European Left Forum (NELF). The current president is the German politician and economist . The four vice-presidents are , Margarita Mileva,

Paolo Ferrero Paolo Ferrero (born 17 November 1960) is an Italian politician. He is a leading member of the Communist Refoundation Party (''Partito della Rifondazione Comunista''; PRC), and served as Minister of Social Solidarity from 2006 to 2008 as part of ...

, and former PEL President Pierre Laurent. Swiss Brigitte Berthouzoz serves as the new EL treasurer. The party supports

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribb ...

, and a delegation visited the nation in February 2022. As of December 2016, the Party of the European Left gathers 27 member parties, 8 observers, and 3 partners from 25 European countries.

Membership

Member parties

Observer parties

Partners

As well as those of member and observer parties, individuals may also hold membership of the party.

Former members

Party congresses

The party's first congress took place on 8 October 2005 in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates a ...

, and produced the ''Athens Declaration of the European Left''. The second congress was held 23–25 November 2007 in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

. The third congress was held on 2–5 December 2010 in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

. Its fourth congress was held on 13–15 December 2013 in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

. Its fifth congress took place on 16–18 December 2016 in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...

, and elected German lawyer and politician

Gregor Gysi Gregor Florian Gysi (; born 16 January 1948) is a German attorney, former president of the Party of the European Left and a prominent politician of The Left (''Die Linke'') political party. He belonged to the reformist wing of the governing So ...

as the new PEL President.

Leadership

*President:

Fausto Bertinotti Fausto Bertinotti (born 22 March 1940) is an Italian politician who led the Communist Refoundation Party (''Partito della Rifondazione Comunista'') from 1994 to 2006. On 29 April 2006, after the centre-left coalition's victory in the Italian ...

(2004–2007), Lothar Bisky (2007–2010), Pierre Laurent (2010–2016),

(2016–2019), Heinz Bierbaum (2019–present) *Leader in the

: Francis Wurtz (2004–2009), Lothar Bisky (2009–2012), Gabi Zimmer (2012–present)

References

External links

*
Italian website
{{Authority control Political parties established in 2004 Pan-European political parties International organisations based in Belgium Socialist parties in Europe Democratic socialism in Europe 2004 establishments in Europe Eurosceptic parties