The Left in the European Parliament – GUE/NGL is a left-wing political group of the European Parliament established in 1995.[8][3] Before January 2021, it was named the European United Left/Nordic Green Left (French: Gauche unitaire européenne/Gauche verte nordique, GUE/NGL).[9]
| The Left in the European Parliament | |
|---|---|
| European Parliament group | |
 | |
| Name | The Left in the European Parliament |
| English abbr. | The Left |
| Ideology | |
| Political position | Left-wing[3] to far-left[4][5] |
| European parties | Party of the European Left Nordic Green Left Alliance European Anti-Capitalist Left Now the People! Animal Politics EU |
| From | 6 January 1995[6] |
| Preceded by | European United Left |
| Chaired by | Alonso José Puerta (1995–1999)[7] Francis Wurtz (1999–2009) Lothar Bisky (2009–2012) Gabi Zimmer (2012–2019) Manon Aubry (2019–present) Martin Schirdewan (2019–present) |
| MEP(s) | 37 / 705 |
| Website | left |
The group comprises political parties with democratic socialist, communist, and eurosceptic orientation.[1][4][10]
History
In 1995, the enlargement of the European Union led to the creation of the Nordic Green Left group of parties. The Nordic Green Left (NGL) merged with the Confederal Group of the European United Left (GUE) on 6 January 1995,[6] forming the Confederal Group of the European United Left/Nordic Green Left.[11][12][7] The NGL suffix was added to the name of the expanded group on insistence of Swedish and Finnish MEPs.[13] The group initially consisted of MEPs from the Finnish Left Alliance, the Swedish Left Party, the Danish Socialist People's Party, the United Left of Spain (including the Spanish Communist Party), the Synaspismos of Greece, the French Communist Party, the Portuguese Communist Party, the Communist Party of Greece, and the Communist Refoundation Party of Italy.
In 1998, Ken Coates, an expelled MEP from the British Labour Party who co-founded the Independent Labour Network, joined the group.[14]
In 1999, the German Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS) and the Greek Democratic Social Movement (DIKKI) joined as full members, while the five MEPs elected from the list of the French Trotskyist alliance LO–LCR and the one MEP for the Dutch Socialist Party joined as associate members.
In 2002, four MEPs from the French Citizen and Republican Movement and one from the Danish People's Movement against the EU also joined the group.
In 2004, no MEPs were elected from LO–LCR and DIKKI — which was undergoing a dispute with its leader over the party constitution — , as well as the French Citizen and Republican Movement, did not put forward candidates. MEPs from the Portuguese Left Block, the Irish Sinn Féin, the Progressive Party of Working People of Cyprus, and the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia joined the group. The Danish Socialist People's Party, a member of the Nordic Green Left, left the group to instead sit in the Greens–European Free Alliance group.
In 2009, no MEPs were elected from the Italian Communist Refoundation Party and the Finnish Left Alliance. MEPs from the Irish Socialist Party, the Socialist Party of Latvia, and the French Left Party joined the group.
In 2013, one MEP from the Croatian Labourists – Labour Party also joined the group.
In 2014, no MEPs were elected from the Irish Socialist Party, the Socialist Party of Latvia, and the Croatian Labourists – Labour Party. MEPs from the Spanish Podemos as well as EH Bildu and the Dutch Party for the Animals joined the group, while MEPs from the Italian Communist Refoundation Party and the Finnish Left Alliance re-entered parliament and rejoined. The Communist Party of Greece, a founding member of the group, decided to leave and instead sit as Non-Inscrits.[15]
In 2019, no MEPs were elected from the French Communist Party, the Danish People's Movement against the EU, the Dutch Socialist Party, and from the Italian parties The Left and the Communist Refoundation Party. MEPs from the French La France insoumise, the Belgian Workers' Party of Belgium, the German Human Environment Animal Protection, the Irish Independents 4 Change, and the Danish Red-Green Alliance joined the group.
Chairpeople
| Chairperson | Took office | Left office | Country (Constituency) | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alonso Puerta | .jpg) | 1995 | 1999 |  Spain |  United Left |
| Francis Wurtz |  | 1999 | 2009 |  France(Île-de-France) | .svg){kind=small} Communist Party |
| Lothar Bisky |  | 2009 | 2012 |  Germany | .svg){kind=small} The Left |
| Gabi Zimmer |  | 2012 | 2019 | Germany | The Left |
| Manon Aubry* | 2019 | present | France |  La France Insoumise | |
| Martin Schirdewan* | .jpg) | 2019 | present | Germany | The Left |
- Since 2019 The Left group has had two co-chairpeople.
Position
According to its 1994 constituent declaration, the group is opposed to the present European Union political structure, but it is committed to integration.[16] That declaration sets out three aims for the construction of another European Union, the total change of institutions to make them fully democratic, breaking with neoliberal monetarist policies, and a policy of co-development and equitable cooperation. The group wants to disband the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and strengthen the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).[citation needed][needs update]
The group is ambivalent between reformism and revolution, leaving it up to each party to decide on the manner they deem best suited to achieve these aims. As such, it has simultaneously positioned itself as insiders within the European institutions, enabling it to influence the decisions made by co-decision; and as outsiders by its willingness to seek another Europe, which would abolish the Maastricht Treaty.[17]
Organisation
The GUE/NGL is a confederal group that is composed of MEPs from national parties. Those national parties must share common political objectives with the group, as specified in the group's constituent declaration. Nevertheless, those national parties, and not the group, retain control of their MEPs; therefore, the group may be divided on certain issues.
Members of the group meet regularly to prepare for meetings, debate on policies, and vote on resolutions. The group also publishes reports on various topics.
Member parties
MEPs may be full or associate members.
- Full members must accept the constitutional declaration of the group.
- Associate members need not fully do so, but they may sit with the full members.
National parties may be full or associate members.
- Full member parties must accept the constitutional declaration of the group.
- Associate member parties may include parties that do not have MEPs (e. g., French Trotskyist parties which did not get elected in the 2004 European elections), are from states that are not part of the European Union, or do not wish to be full members.
Membership
9th European Parliament
The initial member parties for the 9th European Parliament was determined at the first meeting on 29 May 2019.[19]
8th European Parliament
7th European Parliament
| Country | National party | European party | MEPs | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Cyprus | Progressive Party of Working People | PEL (observer) | 2 / 6 | |
 Czech Republic | Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia | PEL (observer) | 4 / 22 | |
 Denmark | People's Movement against the EU | EUD | 1 / 13 | |
| France | Left Front | French Communist Party | PEL | 2 / 72 |
| Left Party | PEL | 1 / 72 | ||
| Communist Party of Réunion | 1 / 72 | |||
| Independent | 1 / 72 | |||
| Germany | The Left | PEL | 8 / 99 | |
 Greece | Communist Party of Greece | 2 / 22 | ||
| Coalition of the Radical Left (SYRIZA) | 1 / 22 | |||
 Ireland | Socialist Party | 1 / 12 | ||
 Latvia | Harmony Centre | Socialist Party | 1 / 8 | |
 Netherlands | Socialist Party | 2 / 25 | ||
 Portugal | Left Bloc | PEL | 2 / 22 | |
| Democratic Unity Coalition | Portuguese Communist Party | 2 / 22 | ||
| Spain | United Left | Communist Party of Spain | PEL | 1 / 54 |
 Sweden | Left Party | 1 / 20 | ||
 United Kingdom | Sinn Féin (Contests elections in Northern Ireland only) | 1 / 3 | ||
6th European Parliament
| Country | National party | European party | MEPs | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cyprus | Progressive Party of Working People | PEL (observer) | 2 / 6 | |
| Czech Republic | Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia | PEL (observer) | 6 / 22 | |
| Denmark | People's Movement against the EU | EUD | 1 / 14 | |
 Finland | Left Alliance | 1 / 13 | ||
| France | French Communist Party | PEL | 3 / 74 | |
| Germany | The Left | PEL | 6 / 99 | |
| Greece | Communist Party of Greece | 3 / 21 | ||
| Synaspismos | PEL | 1 / 21 | ||
| Ireland | Sinn Féin | 1 / 13 | ||
 Italy | Communist Refoundation Party | PEL | 5 / 73 | |
| Party of Italian Communists | PEL (observer) | 2 / 73 | ||
| Netherlands | Socialist Party | 2 / 26 | ||
| Portugal | Portuguese Communist Party | 2 / 21 | ||
| Left Bloc | 1 / 21 | |||
| Spain | United Left | PEL | 1 / 54 | |
| Sweden | Left Party | 2 / 20 | ||
| United Kingdom | Sinn Féin (Contests elections in Northern Ireland only) | 1 / 73 | ||
European Parliament results
| Election year | No. of overall seats won | +/– |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 34 / 567 | |
| 1999 | 42 / 626 | 8  |
| 2004 | 41 / 732 | 1  |
| 2009 | 35 / 766 | 6 |
| 2014 | 52 / 751 | 17 |
| 2019 | 41 / 751 | 11 |