Party of the European Left

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 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. 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 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 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". ==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 European Parliament: Francis Wurtz (2004–2009), Lothar Bisky (2009–2012), Gabi Zimmer (2012–2019), Martin Schirdewan (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 25 member parties in 20 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 Individual members EL also includes a number of individual members. While it has had a steadily high number of individual members, and currently the highest number, EL has not sought to develop mass individual membership. Below is the evolution of individual membership of EL since 2019. == Funding ==

As a registered European political party, EL is entitled to European public funding, which it has received continuously since 2004. Below is the evolution of European public funding received by EL. In line with the Regulation on European political parties and European political foundations, EL also raises private funds to co-finance its activities. As of 2025, European parties must raise at least 10% of their reimbursable expenditure from private sources, while the rest can be covered using European public funding. Below is the evolution of contributions and donations received by EL. ==Representation in European institutions==