The Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D) is the political group in the European Parliament of the

Party of European Socialists The Party of European Socialists (PES) is a Social democracy, social democratic European political party. The PES comprises national-level political parties from all the European Economic Area, European economic area states (EEA) plus the Unit ...

(PES). The Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats was officially founded as a Socialist Group on 29 June 1953, which makes it the second oldest political 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 ...

after the

European People's Party Group The European People's Party Group (EPP Group or simply EPP) is a political group of the European Parliament consisting of deputies (MEPs) from the member parties of the European People's Party (EPP). Sometimes it also includes independent ME ...

(EPP Group). It adopted its present-day name on 23 June 2009.

Centre-left Centre-left politics is the range of left-wing political ideologies that lean closer to the political centre. Ideologies commonly associated with it include social democracy, social liberalism, progressivism, and green politics. Ideas commo ...

in orientation, the group mostly comprises

social democratic Social democracy is a Social philosophy, social, Economic ideology, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achi ...

parties and is affiliated with the

Progressive Alliance The Progressive Alliance (PA) is a political international of progressive and social democratic political parties and organisations founded on 22 May 2013 in Leipzig, Germany. The alliance was formed as an alternative to the existing Socia ...

and

Socialist International The Socialist International (SI) is a political international or worldwide organisation of political parties which seek to establish democratic socialism, consisting mostly of Social democracy, social democratic political parties and Labour mov ...

. Until the

1999 European Parliament election The 1999 European Parliament election was a European election for all 626 members of the European Parliament held across the 15 European Union member states on 10, 11 and 13 June 1999. The voter turn-out was generally low, except in Belgium and ...

s, it was the largest group in the Parliament, but since then it has always been the second-largest group. During the eighth EU Parliament Assembly, the S&D was the only Parliament group with representation from all 27

EU member states The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated population of over 449million as of 2024. The EU is often de ...

. In the current EU Parliament the S&D is currently composed of members from 25 member states. In the

European Council The European Council (informally EUCO) is a collegiate body (directorial system) and a symbolic collective head of state, that defines the overall political direction and general priorities of the European Union (EU). It is composed of the he ...

, eight out of 27 heads of state and government belong to PES parties and in the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...

, 8 out of 27 Commissioners come from PES parties.

History

The Socialist Group was one of the first three groups to be created when it was founded on 23 June 1953 in the Common Assembly of the

European Coal and Steel Community The European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) was a European organization created after World War II to integrate Europe's coal and steel industries into a single common market based on the principle of supranationalism which would be governe ...

. The Common Assembly was the predecessor of the European Parliament. A group bureau and secretariat was established in

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

. The group continued through the creation of the appointed Parliament in 1958 and, when the Parliament became an elected body in 1979 following the first European election, the group became the largest in terms of returned MEPs. It has ever since remained the largest or second-largest Group. In 1987, the

Single European Act The Single European Act (SEA) was the first major revision of the 1957 Treaty of Rome. The Act set the European Community an objective of establishing a single market by 31 December 1992, and a forerunner of the European Union's Common Fore ...

came into force and the group began co-operating with the

European People's Party The European People's Party (EPP) is a European political party with Christian democracy, Christian democratic, liberal conservatism, liberal-conservative, and conservative member parties. A transnational organisation, it is composed of other p ...

(EPP) to secure the majorities needed under the

cooperation procedure The cooperation procedure (formally known as the Article 252 procedure) was one of the principal legislative procedures of the European Community, before the entrance into force of the Treaty of Amsterdam. It was retained after that treaty but o ...

. The left–right coalition between the Socialists and EPP has dominated the Parliament since then. Further, with some exceptions, the post of President of the Parliament has alternated between the two groups ever since. Meanwhile, the national parties making up the group were also organising themselves on a European level ''outside'' the Parliament, creating the ''Confederation of Socialist Parties of the European Community'' in 1974.How does the PES work?
The Confederation was succeeded by the

(PES), in 1992. As a result, the parliamentary group was renamed the ''Group of the Party of European Socialists'' on 21 April 1993. In 1999, the Parliament refused to approve the

Santer Commission The Santer Commission was the European Commission in office between 23 January 1995 and 15 March 1999. The administration was led by Jacques Santer (former Prime Minister of Luxembourg). The body had 20 members and oversaw the introduction of ...

's handling of the

EU budget The budget of the European Union ( The Union’s annual budget) is used to finance EU funding programmes (such as the European Regional Development Fund, the Cohesion Fund, Horizon Europe, or Erasmus+) and other expenditure at the European lev ...

. Allegations of corruption centred on two PES Commissioners,

Édith Cresson Édith Jeanne Thérèse Cresson (; Campion; born 27 January 1934) is a French politician of the Socialist Party. She served as Prime Minister of France from 1991 to 1992, the first woman to do so and only woman until Élisabeth Borne's appoint ...

and

Manuel Marín Manuel Marín González (21 October 1949 – 4 December 2017) was a Spanish politician, former President of the Congress of Deputies of Spain. He was a long-time member of the European Commission, and acting president during the Santer Commis ...

. The group initially supported the Commission but later withdrew their support, forcing the Commission to resign. The group was renamed again to the ''Socialist Group in the European Parliament'' on 20 July 2004, and was given a different logo, to further distinguish the PES group organisation from the PES

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 ...

. In 2007, the Socialist Group was the second largest group in Parliament, with MEPs from all but two member states, Latvia and Cyprus. However, the 2009 European election saw a reduction in the number of PES MEPs returned from 2004. The group sought additional members in the Democratic Party of Italy, which was not affiliated to the PES in 2009. By the conclusion of the 2004–2009 parliamentary term, the Democratic Party had 8 MEPs in the Socialist Group (coming from the

Democrats of the Left The Democrats of the Left (, DS) was a social-democratic political party in Italy. Positioned on the centre-left, the DS, successor of the Democratic Party of the Left (PDS) and the Italian Communist Party, was formed in 1998 upon the merger ...

), but also had eight MEPs in ALDE Group (coming from the Daisy). The Democratic Party is a

big tent A big tent party, or catch-all party, is a political party having members covering a broad spectrum of beliefs. This is in contrast to other kinds of parties, which defend a determined ideology, seek voters who adhere to that ideology, and att ...

centre-left party, strongly influenced by

social democracy Social democracy is a Social philosophy, social, Economic ideology, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achi ...

and the

Christian left The Christian left, otherwise referred to as the religious left, is a range of Christian political and social movements that largely embrace social justice principles and uphold a social doctrine or social gospel based on their interpreta ...

, and had MEPs who were former

Christian Democrats Christian democracy is an ideology inspired by Christian social teaching to respond to the challenges of contemporary society and politics. Christian democracy has drawn mainly from Catholic social teaching and neo-scholasticism, as well a ...

or had other political views. As such, a new and more inclusive group name had to be found. The group was going to be named ''Alliance of Socialists and Democrats for Europe'' (ASDE) but this was seemed too similar to

Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe The Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE; , ADLE) was a transnational alliance between two European political parties, the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party and the European Democratic Party. ALDE had political ...

(ALDE). The name ''Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats'' was suggested on 18 June by group president

Martin Schulz Martin Schulz (born 20 December 1955) is a German politician who was a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from Germany from 1994 to 2017 and a Member of the Bundestag (MdB) from 2017 to 2021. During his tenure he was Leader of the Progress ...

and it was renamed on 23 June 2009. The English abbreviation was initially unclear, being variously reported as PASD, S&D Group or PASDE. Dissatisfaction by Socialist MEPs towards the new name led Martin Schulz to admit that the name was still under consideration and that the group was to be referred to as the "Socialists and Democrats" until a final title was chosen. On 14 July 2009, the first day of the constitutive session of the 2009–2014 term, the full formal group name was ''Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament'' and the abbreviation was ''S&D''. The S&D Group joined the

upon its official foundation on 22 May 2013 and is a member of the organisation's board. The group was formerly an associated organisation of the

Presidents of the European Parliament

For presidents of the European Parliament from the group, see

President of the European Parliament The president of the European Parliament presides over the debates and activities of the European Parliament. They also represent the Parliament within the European Union (EU) and internationally. The president's signature is required for Euro ...

Organisation

The group is led by a President and a Bureau of vice-presidents. There is also a Treasurer and a Secretary General.

Presidents of the group

Presidents of the group include:

2019–2024 legislature

Vice-presidents

Following the 2019 European elections, S&D Members elected their new political Bureau made up of the President Iratxe García Pérez, nine vice-presidents and the treasurer. As a consequence of Brexit, British S&D Member Claude Moraes had to resign from his position as vice-president. Marek Belka has been appointed the new vice-president. * Pedro Marques (Portugal), * Elisabetta Gualmini (Italy), *

Biljana Borzan Biljana Borzan (; born 29 November 1971) is a Croatian physician and politician who has been member of the European Parliament for Croatia since 1 July 2013, having been elected to the position at the 2013 European Parliament election in Croatia, ...

(Croatia), * Alex Agius Saliba (Malta), *

Gabriele Bischoff Gabriele Bischoff (born 4 January 1961) is a German politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) who is serving as a Member of the European Parliament. Early life and education Bischoff graduated from König-Heinrich-Gymnasium in Fritzlar in ...

(Germany), *

Heléne Fritzon Marie Heléne Elisabeth Fritzon (born 29 September 1960) is a Swedish politician of the Social Democrats. She has been Member of the European Parliament (MEP) and Vice-Chair of the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats si ...

(Sweden), * Mohammed Chahim (The Netherlands), *

Rovana Plumb Rovana Plumb (born 22 June 1960) is a Romanian politician of the Social Democratic Party (Romania), Social Democratic Party (PSD). She was appointed Minister of Environment and Forests (now Minister of Environment and Climate Change) on 7 May 201 ...

(Romania), *

Marek Belka Marek Marian Belka (; born 9 January 1952 in Lódź) is a Polish professor of economics and politician who has served as Prime Minister of Poland and Finance Minister of Poland in two governments. He is a former director of the International Mo ...

(Poland)

Treasurer

Eero Heinäluoma Eero Olavi Heinäluoma (born 4 July 1955) is a Finnish politician who has been serving as Member of the European Parliament since 2019. A former chairman of the Social Democratic Party of Finland, he was replaced in the party's leadership by J ...

(Finland)

2014–2019 legislature

Vice-presidents

Previous vice-presidents of the group appointed at the start of the current legislature in 2014 * Victor Boștinaru (Romania), *

Tanja Fajon Tanja Fajon (born 9 May 1971) is a Slovenian politician, former leader of Social Democrats, part of the Party of European Socialists and former Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from Slovenia. She has been serving as the minister of fore ...

(Slovenia), * Isabelle Thomas (France), *

Enrique Guerrero Salom Enrique Guerrero Salom (born 28 August 1948) is a Spanish politician who served as a Member of the European Parliament from 2009 until 2019, representing Spain for the Spanish Socialist Workers Party. From 2012 until 2014 he served as Vice-Chair ...

(Spain), *

Marju Lauristin Marju Lauristin (born 7 April 1940) is an Estonian politician, and former Member of the European Parliament and Minister of Social Affairs. She is a member of the Social Democratic Party, part of the Party of European Socialists. Lauristin is ...

(Estonia), *

Jörg Leichtfried Jörg Leichtfried (born 18 June 1967 in Bruck an der Mur, Styria) is an Politics of Austria, Austrian politician of the Social Democratic Party of Austria, Social Democratic Party who has been serving as a member of the National Council (Austria) ...

(Austria), * Knut Fleckenstein (Germany), *

Maria João Rodrigues Maria João Fernandes Rodrigues GOIH (born 25 September 1955) is a Portuguese academic and politician who served as Minister of Employment in Portugal and was a Member of the European Parliament. She was Vice-President of the Group of the Sociali ...

(Portugal), * Kathleen Van Brempt (Belgium),

Treasurer

Péter Niedermüller Péter Niedermüller (born 3 September 1952) is a Hungarian politician. From July 2014 to July 2019, he served as a Member of the European Parliament, representing Hungary for the Democratic Coalition. In the 2019 Hungarian local elections, he ...

(Hungary)

2009–2014 legislature

Vice-presidents

Previous vice-presidents of the group appointed at the start of the 2009 legislature: *

María Badía Maria Badia i Cutchet (born 13 May 1947 in Sant Quirze del Vallès, Barcelona (province), Barcelona province) is a Spanish politician from Catalonia who served as a Member of the European Parliament from 2004 until 2014. She is a member of the Sp ...

i Cutchet (PSOE, Spain) – Communication Policy and Public Relations *

Monika Beňová Monika Beňová (born 15 August 1968) is a Slovak politician who has been a member of the European Parliament since 2004. She is a member of the centre-left Direction-Social Democracy party SMER-SD. SMER-SD is a member of the Party of European ...

(Smer, Slovakia) – Europe of the Citizens *

Véronique De Keyser Véronique can refer to: * Véronique (given name), a French female name * Véronique River, a river in the Côte-Nord region of the province of Quebec, Canada. * Véronique (rocket), a French sounding rocket * ''Véronique'' (operetta), compose ...

(PS, Belgium) – Human Rights, Development and International Trade * Stephen Hughes (Labour, United Kingdom) – Economy and Social Policy *

Stéphane Le Foll Stéphane Le Foll (; born 3 February 1960) is a French politician serving as Mayor of Le Mans since 2018. A member of the Socialist Party, he was Minister of Agriculture under President François Hollande from 2012 to 2017. Political career Me ...

(PS, France) – Budget and Territorial Cohesion *

Adrian Severin Adrian Severin (born 28 March 1954) is a Romanian politician and former Member of the European Parliament. Adrian Severin started his political career under the Communist rule, as Instructor (''lector'') at Ștefan Gheorghiu Academy, the univer ...

(PSD, Romania) – Foreign Policy and Defence *

Gianluca Susta Gianluca Susta (born 10 April 1956, Biella) is an Italian politician and a member of the Italian Senate, to which he was elected in February 2013. Previously, he served as Mayor of Biella from 1992 to 2004 and was a member of the European Parli ...

(PD, Italy) – Agriculture and Fisheries *

Hannes Swoboda Hannes Swoboda (born 10 November 1946) is an Austrian social democratic politician who served as a Member of the European Parliament from 1996 until 2014. Within the Parliament, he represents the Social Democratic Party of Austria and from Januar ...

(SPÖ, Austria) – Parliamentary Affairs and Relations with International Organisations *

Marita Ulvskog Marita Elisabet Ulvskog (born 4 September 1951) is a Swedish politician who served as Member of the European Parliament from 2009 until 2019. She is a member of the Social Democrats, part of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats. ...

(SAP, Sweden) – Sustainable Development and Competition

2004–2009 legislature

Vice-presidents

Previous vice-presidents of the group for the 2004–2009 term were as follows: *

Harlem Désir Harlem Jean-Philippe Désir (; born 25 November 1959) is a French politician who served as leader of the Socialist Party (PS) from 2012 to 2014. First widely known as a community activist and as the first president of SOS Racisme in the 1980s, ...

(PS, France) *

Bárbara Dührkop Dührkop Bárbara Dührkop Dührkop (born 27 July 1945, in Hanover) is a Spanish politician and member of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE). She was until 2009 a Member of the European Parliament, where she was a vice-chair of the Party of Europe ...

(PSOE, Spain) * Robert Goebbels (LSAP, Luxembourg) *

Linda McAvan Linda McAvan (born 2 December 1962) is a British Labour Party politician, who was a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for Yorkshire South and Yorkshire and the Humber from 1998, when she was first elected in a by-election following the r ...

(Labour Party, UK) *

Pasqualina Napoletano Pasqualina Napoletano (born 28 September 1949) is an Italian politician and Member of the European Parliament for European Parliament Election, 2004 (Italy)#Seats, the Central region with the Democrats of the Left, a Vice-Chairwoman of the Party ...

(Sinistra Democratica, Italy) *

(SPÖ, Austria) *

Kristian Vigenin Kristian Ivanov Vigenin (; born 12 June 1975) is a Bulgarian politician, Vice-President of the National Assembly of Bulgaria, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria, and a former Member of the European Parliament. He became minister on M ...

(BSP, Bulgaria) *

Jan Marinus Wiersma Jan Marinus Wiersma (born 26 August 1951 in Groningen) is a Dutch politician and from 1994 to 2009 Member of the European Parliament. He is a member of the Labour Party, vice-chair of the Party of European Socialists group, and sits on the Europ ...

(PvdA, Netherlands)

Treasurers

Current/previous Treasurers of the group are as follows: *

Magda Kósáné Kovács Magda Kósáné Kovács (4 November 1940 – 27 July 2020) was a Hungarian politician who was a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the Hungarian Socialist Party, part of the Party of European Socialists. She left the Socialist Party a ...

(Hungary, MSZP)

Secretaries General

Current/previous Secretaries General of the group are as follows: * Manfred Michel (West Germany) c. 1970 – c. 1985 * Paolo Falcone (Italy) c. 1986 – 1989 *

Julian Priestley Sir Julian Gordon Priestley (26 May 1950 – 22 April 2017) was an English civil-servant who served as Secretary-General of the European Parliament 1997–2007. He was the second President of the Young European Federalists 1974–1976. Biograp ...

(UK) 1989–1994 * Joan Prat (Spain) 1994–1999 (Deputy Sec Gen

Richard Corbett Richard Graham Corbett CBE (born 6 January 1955) is a former British politician who served as the final Leader of the European Parliamentary Labour Party (EPLP), from 2017 to 2020. He was for decades one of the leading political and academ ...

UK) * Christine Verger (France) 1999–2004 * David Harley (UK) 2004–2006 * Anna Colombo (Italy) 2006–2014 * Javier Moreno Sanchez (Spain) 2014–2019 * Michael Hoppe (Germany) 2019–2021 * Anton Beumer (Netherlands) 2022-

MEPs

10th European Parliament

9th European Parliament

Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats MEPs map

From 6th to 8th European Parliament

References

External links

Socialists & Democrats Group website
{{European Parliament groups Political groups of the European Parliament Progressive Alliance Political parties established in 1953 1953 establishments in Europe European political alliances