European United Left–Nordic Green Left

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European United Left–Nordic Green Left European Parliament group
EUL/NGL logo
Name	European United Left–Nordic Green Left
English abbr.	EUL/NGL[1]
French abbr.	GUE/NGL[2][3]
Formal name	Confederal Group of the European United Left/Nordic Green Left[2][4][5]
Ideology	Socialism, Eco-socialism, Communism
European parties	Party of the European Left
Associated organisations	Nordic Green Left Alliance
From	6 January 1995[6]
To	n/a
Preceded by	European United Left (1994–1995)
Succeeded by	n/a
Chaired by	Alonso José Puerta (1999-2004),[5] Francis Wurtz (2004-2009) Lothar Bisky (2009-)
MEP(s)	42 (July 20, 1999), 41 (July 20, 2004) 35 (July 20, 2009)
Website	http://www.guengl.eu

European United Left–Nordic Green Left (EUL-NGL) is a left-wing political group with seats in the European Parliament since 1995.

Contents 1 Position 2 Organisation 2.1 Membership 2.2 Subgroups 3 Member parties 4 History 5 Sources 6 References

[edit] Position

According its 1994 constituent declaration, the group is opposed to the present European political structure, but committed to integration.^[7] That declaration sets out three aims for the construction of another Europe: the total change of institutions to make them "fully democratic"; and breaking with "neo-liberal monetarist policies"; and a policy of co-development and equitable cooperation. The group wants to disband NATO and "strengthen the OSCE".

The group is ambiguous 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 Union" which would abolish the Maastricht Treaty.

[edit] Organisation

The GUE-NGL is a confederal group: it 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, not the group, retain control of their MEPs. Thus, 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.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Membership

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 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.

[edit] Subgroups

It combines the European United Left subgroup (which consists of a core of parties that are in the Party of the European Left and a periphery of unaffiliated leftist parties) and the Nordic Green Left subgroup consisting of MEPs from the Nordic Green Left Alliance parties of Sweden and Finland.

[edit] Member parties

Country	Electoral Group	National Party	MEPs
Cyprus	Progressive Party of Working People²		2
Czech Republic	Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia²		4
Denmark	People's Movement against the EU	Red-Green Alliance²	1
France	Left Front	French Communist Party1	2
		Left Party1	1
		Communist Party of Réunion	1
		Marie-Christine Vergiat	1
Germany	The Left1		8
Greece	Communist Party of Greece		2
	Coalition of the Radical Left	Synaspismós1	1
Ireland	Socialist Party		1
Latvia	Harmony Centre	Socialist Party of Latvia	1
Netherlands	Socialist Party		2
Portugal	Left Bloc1		3
	Democratic Unity Coalition	Portuguese Communist Party	2
Spain	United Left1	Communist Party of Spain1	1
Sweden	Left Party³		1
United Kingdom	Sinn Féin		1

Notes

• ¹ - Party is a member of the Party of the European Left (PEL)
• ² - Party is an observer of the PEL
• ³ - Party is a member of the Nordic Green Left Alliance (NGLA)

[edit] 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 merged with the Confederal Group of the European United Left on 6 January 1995,^[6] forming the Confederal Group of the European United Left/Nordic Green Left.^[2][4][5] It consisted of MEPs from the Finnish Left Alliance, Swedish Left Party, the Danish Socialist People's Party, United Left of Spain (including the Spanish Communist Party), the Greek Synaspismos, the French Communist Party, Portuguese Communist Party, the Communist Party of Greece, and the Communist Refoundation Party of Italy.

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 joined as associate members.

In 2002, four MEPs from the French Citizen and Republican Movement‎ also joined the group.

In 2004, no MEPs were elected from LO-LCR and DIKKI was dissolved. MEPs from the Portuguese Left Bloc, the Irish Sinn Féin, the Cypriot Progressive Party of Working People (AKEL) and the Czech Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia joined the group.

[edit] Sources

• Democracy in the European Parliament^[1]
• Political Groups Annual Accounts 2001-2006^[2]
• Political Groups of the European Parliament^[3]
• Group names 1999^[4]
• European Parliament MEP Archives^[5]
• Europe Politique^[6]
• European United Left–Nordic Green Left official website^[7]

[edit] References

v • d • e Political groups of the European Parliament European People's Party (265) • Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (184) • Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (84) • The Greens–European Free Alliance (55) • European Conservatives and Reformists (54) • European United Left–Nordic Green Left (35) • Europe of Freedom and Democracy (32) • Non-Inscrits (27)   Previous Far-Right Nationalists European Right (1984–1989) • European Right (1989–1994) • Identity, Tradition, Sovereignty (2007) National Conservatives European Democratic Union (1965–1973) • European Progressive Democrats (1973–1984) • European Democratic Alliance (1984–1995) • Union for Europe (1995–1999) • Union for Europe of the Nations (1999–2009) Christian Democrats/Conservatives Christian Democrats (1953–1979) • European People's Party (1979–1999) • European Conservatives (1973–1979) • European Democrats (1979–1992) • Forza Europa (1994–1995) • European People's Party–European Democrats (1999–2009) Liberals/Centrists Liberals and Allies (1953–1976) • Liberals and Democrats (1976–1985) • Liberal and Democratic Reformist Group (1985–1994) • European Radical Alliance (1994–1999) • European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party (1994–2004) Social Democrats Socialists (1953–1993) • Party of European Socialists (1993–2009) Communists/Far-Left Communists and Allies (1973–1989) • European United Left (1989–1993) • Left Unity (1989–1994) • European United Left (1994–1995) Greens/Regionalists Rainbow Group (1984–1989) • Rainbow Group (1989–1994) • Greens (1989–1999) Eurosceptics Europe of Nations (1994–1996) • Independents for a Europe of Nations (1996–1999) • Europe of Democracies and Diversities (1999–2004) • Independence/Democracy (2004–2009) Heterogeneous Technical Group of Independents (1979–1984) • Technical Group of Independents (1999–2001)