Партия европейских левых: история и современность

European political party

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. 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). The current president is the Austrian politician Walter Baier.

The Party of European Left (PEL) was formed on 8 and 9 May 2004 in Rome, Italy. 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. The third congress was held on 2–5 December 2010 in Paris. Its fourth congress was held on 13–15 December 2013 in Madrid. Its fifth congress took place on 16–18 December 2016 in Berlin, 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.

PEL has been described as a left wing and a far left political party. Its ideology is based on principles of democratic socialism, socialism, and communism. PEL is also supportive of progressivism. and opposes militarization and foreign interventionism. 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".

The Party of the European Left consists of member parties with full rights, observer parties, individual members and EL partners. As of March 2023, The Party of the European Left has 25 member parties in 23 countries. Not all members of PEL are members of The Left in the European Parliament – GUE/NGL group in the European Parliament.

CountryPartyNotesCommunist PartyStopped working as a Party in 2009, since December 2013 not listed as a Member. Communist Party of BelgiumResignation decided at the party congress on 30 July 2018. Party of Democratic SocialismMerged into The Left in 2020. Left PartyLeft the EL on 1 July 2018. Unitary LeftMerged with the French Communist Party in Fall 2015. German Communist PartyEnded its observer status on 27 February 2016. Renewing Communist Ecological LeftMerged into Syriza in 2013. Hungarian Workers' PartyQuit 1 May 2009. Party of Italian CommunistsDissolved in December 2014, which meant that the "observer status" was lost. The Other EuropeDissolved in 2019, which meant that the "observer status" was lost. Young SocialistsDissolved in 2015, which meant that the "observer status" was lost.