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Party of European Socialists
Sozialdemokratische Partei Europas Parti socialiste européen Partito Socialista Europeo Partido socialista europeo
President	Poul Nyrup Rasmussen MEP (party) Martin Schulz MEP (group)
Founded	1953 (group) 1973 (confederation) 1992 (party)
Headquarters	Rue du Trône/Troonlaan, 98 1050 Brussels, Belgium
Political Ideology	Social democracy and Democratic socialism
International Affiliation	Socialist International
European Parliament Group	Forms own group
Colours	Red
Website	www.pes.eu
See also	Politics of the EU Political parties Elections

The Party of European Socialists (PES) is a European political party comprising of thirty-three socialist, social democratic and labour parties from each European Union member state and Norway. PES forms a parliamentary group in the European Parliament, the Socialist Group, which is the second largest grouping with over 200 MEPs.

The Party was founded in 1992 and is led by Poul Nyrup Rasmussen MEP. However the history of the Socialist Group goes back to the beginning of the European Parliament in 1953. Until the 1999 European election it had been the largest group elected in Parliament. The group is currently led by Martin Schulz MEP.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Formation 1.2 Elections 1.3 Creation of the party 2 Organisation 2.1 Parliamentary Group 2.2 Other institutions 3 Member parties 3.1 Associate and observer parties 4 References 5 External links

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In 1952 the Socialist Group was formed and in 1973 the Confederation of Socialist Parties was founded, later becoming the Party of European Socialists in 1992. The party had done well in elections, being the largest single group in Parliament, until 1999 after the Santer Commission crisis.

In 1953, the European Parliament had been established (as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and Steel Community), socialist Paul Henri Spaak was elected as its first President. The social democrats within the chamber established the Socialist Group to work and vote together. Guy Mollet MEP was elected as its first chair and a bureau and secretariat was established in Luxembourg. In 1961 the socialists attempted to produce a common European Socialist Programme but were eclipsed by the applications for enlargement. Their 1962 congress pushed for greater democratisation and powers for Parliament though it was only in 1969 that this possibility was examined by the member states. In 1964 the first woman chair was elected: Käte Strobel MEP. In 1971, once more a socialist, Walter Behrendt, is elected President of the Parliament.^[1]

In 1973, Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom joined the European Community bringing in new parties from these states. The enlarged Socialist Congress meet in Bonn and inaugurated the Confederation of the Socialist Parties of the European Community. The Congress also passed a resolution on social policy, including the right to decent work, social security, democracy and equality in the European economy. In 1975 Socialist Georges Spénale was elected President of the Parliament.^[1]

With the first direct elections to Parliament coming in 1979, the Confederation approved the first common European election manifesto. The manifesto had aims to ensure a right to decent work, fight pollution, end discrimination, protect the consumer and promote peace, human right and civil liberties. They following year they won 113 of the 411 seats making them the largest single group. The Confederation approved its first statue in 1980 and the accession of Greece, then Spain and Portugal in that decade brought in more parties. Socialist Piet Dankert served as Parliament president between 1983 and 1984. In the 1984 election they won 164 of the 518 seats.^[1]

In 1987 the Single European Act comes into force the the Socialist Group begin co-operation with the People's Party Group in order to generate the majorities demanded under the cooperation procedure.^[2] With the exception of the 1999-2004 People's-Liberal coalition^[3] the post of President of the Parliament has been split between the EPP and PES from this point on, with the PES Presidents being Enrique Barón Crespo MEP, Klaus Hänsch MEP and Josep Borrell Fontelles MEP. This left-right coalition has dominated Parliament for this period.^[4]

In the 1989 election they won 180 of the 518 seats. In 1992, with the creation of the European Union, the Confederation was transformed into the Party of European Socialists. The first manifesto of the party concentrated on job creation, gender equality, environmental and consumer protection, peace and security, regulation of immigration, discouragement of racism, fighting organised crime and democracy. They went onto win 215 of the 626 seats in the 1994 election, the largest and most cohesive group, and Pauline Green MEP was elected Group President, its second female leader.^[1]

In 1999, the Parliament sparked a crisis when it refused to approve the Commission's handling of the EU budget. Allegations of corruption centred on two socialist members of the Commission (Commissioner Édith Cresson and Commissioner Manuel Marín), leading PES to view it as an attempt to discredit them ahead of the 1999 elections. So while the People's Party withdrew support from the Commission to force the member's resignation, the Socialists defended the Commission and attempted to bloc that move with Pauline Green MEP attempting a vote of confidence in the Commission. During this period the two parties took on a rare government-opposition dynamic with the Socialists taking on the position of the government-supporting party. However they eventually withdrew their support which forced the resignation of the Santer Commission.^[5]

In the following elections, the People's Party defeated the Socialists, taking 233 seats to the Socialists' 180.^[6] 2004 brought in a further 10 member states and new parties with them. In the 2004 election the Party lost again, winning just 200 of the 732 seats.^[1]

There are thirty-three member parties from all the twenty-seven member states and Norway (however, the Smer party is currently suspended). There are a further six associate and seven observer parties. PES is an associated organisation of the Socialist International. Ecosy is the youth organisation of PES and PES Women is the party's womens organisation.^[7]

The parties meet in the party Congress twice every five years to decide on political orientation, such as adopting manifestos ahead of elections. Every year that the Congress does not meet, the Council (a quarter Congress) shapes PES policy. The Congress also elects the party's President, Vice Presidents and the Presidency.^[7]

The President (currently Poul Nyrup Rasmussen MEP) represents the party on a daily basis and chairs the Presidency, which also consists of the Secretary General, President of the PES group in Parliament (see below) and one representative per full member party and organisation. They may also be joined by the President of the European Parliament (if a PES member), a PES European Commissioner and a representatives from associate parties and organisations.^[7]

The Leader's Conference brings together Prime Ministers and Party Leaders from PES parties three to four times a year to agree strategies and resolutions.^[7]

The parliamentary group consists of 218 MEPs, the second largest group in Parliament, from all but two member states.^[8] It is led by a President, currently Martin Schulz MEP, and a Bureau of Vice-Presidents.^[9]

European Commissioners are meant to remain independent, however there has been an increasing degree of politicisation within the Commission.^[10] Six of the twenty-seven Commissioners belong to PES. These are First Vice-President Margot Wallström, Vice-President Günter Verheugen (Enterprise & Industry), Commissioner Joaquín Almunia (Economy), Commissioner Peter Mandelson (Trade), Commissioner Vladimír Špidla (Social) and Commissioner László Kovács (Taxation).^[11]

Parties in the Council of Ministers and the European Council are some times subject to coalitions. At present the following countries are led PES members (European Council member in brackets): Bulgaria (Sergey Stanishev), Hungary (Ferenc Gyurcsány), Lithuania (Gediminas Kirkilas), Portugal (José Sócrates), Spain (José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero) and United Kingdom (Gordon Brown). PES is in coalition in a further six countries: Belgium, Cyprus, Finland, Germany, Italy and Luxembourg.^[11] PES is, like the other parties, also present in other minor institutions such as the Committee of the Regions. There it has 110 members as of 2007.^[11]

With 33 members it is the only political party to have a member from every EU state, although not all of them have elected MEPs (note: the EPP-ED is the only group to have elected MEPs from every country, but is not a single party).^[12]

State	Name (original language)	Name (English)	abbr.	MEPs
Austria	Sozialdemokratische Partei Österreichs	Social Democratic Party of Austria	SPÖ	7
Belgium (Flanders)	Socialistische Partij Anders	Socialist Party - Different	sp.a	3
Belgium (Wallonia)	Parti Socialiste	Socialist Party	PS	4
Bulgaria	Българска социалистическа партия Bălgarska Socialističeska Partija	Bulgarian Socialist Party	BSP	5
Cyprus	Κίνημα Σοσιαλδημοκρατών Kínima Sosialdimokratón	Movement for Social Democracy	EDEK	0
Czech Republic	Česká strana sociálně demokratická	Czech Social Democratic Party	ČSSD	2
Denmark	Socialdemokraterne	Social Democrats	S	5
Estonia	Sotsiaaldemokraatlik Erakond	Social Democratic Party	SDE	3
Finland	Suomen Sosialidemokraattinen Puolue	Social Democratic Party of Finland	SDP	3
France	Parti Socialiste	Socialist Party	PS	32
Germany	Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands	Social Democratic Party of Germany	SPD	23
Greece	Πανελλήνιο Σοσιαλιστικό Κίνημα Panellínio Sosialistikó Kínima	Panhellenic Socialist Movement	PASOK	8
Hungary	Magyar Szocialista Párt	Hungarian Socialist Party	MSZP	9
	Magyarországi Szociáldemokrata Párt	Social Democratic Party of Hungary	MSZDP	0
Ireland	Labour Party		Labour	1
Italy	Democratici di Sinistra	Democrats of the Left	DS	7
	Socialisti Democratici Italiani	Italian Social Democrats	SDI	1
Latvia	Latvijas Sociāldemokrātiskā Strādnieku Partija	Social Democratic Workers' Party of Latvia	LSDSP	0
Lithuania	Lietuvos Socialdemokratų Partija	Social Democratic Party of Lithuania	LSDP	2
Luxembourg	Lëtzebuerger Sozialistesch Arbechterpartei	Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party	LSAP	1
Malta	Partit Laburista	Malta Labour Party	MLP	3
Netherlands	Partij van de Arbeid	Labour Party	PvdA	7
Norway	Det norske Arbeiderparti[13]	Norwegian Labour Party	DnA	n/a
Poland	Sojusz Lewicy Demokratycznej	Democratic Left Alliance	SLD	5
	Unia Pracy	Labour Union	UP	0
Portugal	Partido Socialista	Socialist Party	PS	12
Romania	Partidul Social Democrat	Social Democratic Party	PSD	12
Slovakia	Smer – sociálna demokracia[14]	Direction - social democracy	Smer	3
Slovenia	Socialni demokrati	Social Democrats	SD	1
Spain	Partido Socialista Obrero Español	Spanish Socialist Workers' Party	PSOE	24
Sweden	Sveriges socialdemokratiska arbetareparti	Social Democratic Workers' Party of Sweden	S	5
United Kingdom (Great Britain)	Labour Party		Labour	19
United Kingdom (Northern Ireland)	Social Democratic and Labour Party		SDLP	0
Non-PES parties who sit with the PES Group in the European Parliament
Bulgaria	Partija Balgarski Socialdemokrati	Partija Balgarski Socialdemokrati	PBS	1
Italy	L'Ulivo	The Olive Tree	U	1
	Italia dei Valori	Italy of Values	IdV	1
	Partito Socialista	Socialist Party	PS	2
	Sinistra Democratica	Democratic Left	SD	4
Poland	Socjaldemokracja Polska	Socjaldemokracja Polska	SDLP	3
	Samoobrona Rzeczpospolitej Polskiej	Samoobrona Rzeczpospolitej Polskiej	SRP	1

State	Name (original language)	Name (English)	abbr.	Status
Andorra	Partit Socialdemòcrata	Social Democratic Party	PS	Observer
Bosnia and Herzegovina	Socijaldemokratska Partija BiH	Social Democratic Party	SDP	Observer
Bulgaria	Партия Български социалдемократи Partija Balgarski Socialdemokrati	Party of Bulgarian Social Democrats	PBS	Associate
Croatia	Socijaldemokratska Partija Hrvatske	Social Democratic Party of Croatia	SDP	Associate
Iceland	Samfylkingin	Social Democrat Alliance	S	Observer
Israel	העבודה Avoda	Labour Party	LP	Observer
	מרצ Meretz-Yachad	Vitality - Together	MY	Observer
Republic of Macedonia	Социјалдемократски Сојуз на Македонија Socijaldemokratski Sojuz na Makedonija	Social Democratic Union of Macedonia	SDSM	Associate
San Marino	Partito dei Socialisti e dei Democratici	Party of Socialists and Democrats	PSD	Observer
Serbia	Demokratska stranka	Democratic Party	DS	Observer
Switzerland	Sozialdemokratische Partei der Schweiz Parti socialiste suisse	Social Democratic Party of Switzerland	SP/PS	Associate
Turkey	Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi	Republican People's Party	CHP	Associate
	Demokratik Toplum Partisi	Democratic Society Party	DTP	Associate

• Party of European Socialists, official website
• Parliamentary Group of the Party of European Socialists, official website
• 2009 Manifesto consultation, PES website

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