The Party of the European Left (PEL), or European Left (EL), is a

European political party A European political party, formerly known as a political party at European levelArticle 10.4 of the 2007 Treaty on European Union states that "political parties at European level contribute to forming European political awareness" and Regul ...

that operates as an association of

democratic socialist Democratic socialism is a left-wing economic and 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-mana ...

and

communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

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 Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

and other European countries. It was formed in January 2004 for the purposes of running in the

2004 European Parliament election The 2004 European Parliament election was held between 10 and 13 June 2004 in the 25 member states of the European Union, using varying election days according to local custom. The European Parliamental parties could not be voted for, but elect ...

s. 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 European Coal and Steel Comm ...

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 two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...

, 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). Several member and observer parties also participated in the more radical

European Anti-Capitalist Left The European Anti-Capitalist Left (EACL) was a left-wing European political alliance. The EACL took part in the Europe against Austerity Conference in 2011 and 2012. Ideology Parties participating in the EACL are united in opposition to neo- ...

. The Party of European Left (PEL) was formed on 8 and 9 May 2004 in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

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

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

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

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

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

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

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

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

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

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, and elected German lawyer and politician Gregor Gysi as the new PEL President. Heinz Bierbaum was elected president in 2019. He was succeeded by Walter Baier in December 2022. It operates a think tank, Transform Europe, and it has women's wing named EL-Fem. 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 Die Linke (; ), also known as the Left Party ( ), is a democratic socialist political party in Germany. The party was founded in 2007 as the result of the merger of the Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS) and Labour and Social Justice – The ...

and socially conservative BSW in Germany, and the creation of a separate platform for the 2024 European elections, Now the People.

Ideology

PEL has been described as a

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social ...

and a

far-left Far-left politics, also known as extreme left politics or left-wing extremism, are politics further to the left on the left–right political spectrum than the standard political left. The term does not have a single, coherent definition; some ...

political party. Its ideology is based on principles of

democratic socialism Democratic socialism is a left-wing economic ideology, economic and political philosophy that supports political democracy and some form of a socially owned economy, with a particular emphasis on economic democracy, workplace democracy, and wor ...

socialism Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

, and

communism Communism () is a political sociology, sociopolitical, political philosophy, philosophical, and economic ideology, economic ideology within the history of socialism, socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a ...

. It is opposed to capitalism and consists of parties with wide range of opinions. PEL is also supportive of

progressivism Progressivism is a Left-right political spectrum, left-leaning political philosophy and Reformism, reform political movement, movement that seeks to advance the human condition through social reform. Adherents hold that progressivism has unive ...

. It takes a soft Eurosceptic approach towards the European Union, and opposes militarization and

foreign interventionism Interventionism, in international politics, is the interference of a state or group of states into the domestic affairs of another state for the purposes of Coercion (international relations), coercing that state to do something or refrain from d ...

. PEL opposed the

Iraq War The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...

and

War in Afghanistan War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to: *Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC), the conquest of Afghanistan by the Macedonian Empire * Muslim conquests of Afghanistan, a series of campaigns in ...

, and criticised the oppression of 2009 Iranian presidential election protests. It is also opposed to NATO and United States military bases. It supports

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

, and a delegation visited the nation in February 2022. In an interview with the political magazine ''

Jacobin The Society of the Friends of the Constitution (), renamed the Society of the Jacobins, Friends of Freedom and Equality () after 1792 and commonly known as the Jacobin Club () or simply the Jacobins (; ), was the most influential political cl ...

'', Walter Baier, the president of PEL, described PEL as part of the "socialist left" and criticised the European Union, stating that it is

neoliberal Neoliberalism is a political and economic ideology that advocates for free-market capitalism, which became dominant in policy-making from the late 20th century onward. The term has multiple, competing definitions, and is most often used pej ...

and "closer to enlightened absolutism than parliamentary democracy".

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

: Francis Wurtz (2004–2009), Lothar Bisky (2009–2012), Gabi Zimmer (2012–2019),

Martin Schirdewan Martin Schirdewan (born 12 July 1975) is a German journalist and politician who served as of The Left from June 2022 to October 2024. He has sat as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) since 2017, and was elected co-chair of The Left in ...

(2019–present)

Membership

The Party of the European Left consists of member parties with full rights, observer parties, individual members and EL partners. As of October 2024, The Party of the European Left has 24 member parties in 21 countries. Not all members of PEL are members of The Left in the European Parliament – GUE/NGL group in the European Parliament.

Full members

Observer members

EL Partners

Former members

Representation in European institutions

Notes

References

External links

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