The Left in the European Parliament – GUE/NGL
| European United Left-Nordic Green Left | |
|---|---|
| European Parliament group | |
 GUE/NGL logo | |
| Name | European United Left-Nordic Green Left |
| English abbr. | GUE-NGL[1] |
| French abbr. | GUE-NGL[2][3] |
| Formal name | Confederal Group of the European United Left/Nordic Green Left[2][4][5] |
| Ideology | Democratic socialism[6] (majority) Communism[6] (minority) Soft Euroscepticism[7] |
| European parties | Party of the European Left, European Anti-Capitalist Left |
| Associated organisations | Nordic Green Left Alliance |
| From | 6 January 1995[8] |
| Preceded by | European United Left |
| Chaired by | Alonso José Puerta (1999–2004),[5] Francis Wurtz (2004–09) Lothar Bisky (2009–12) Gabriele Zimmer (2012–present) |
| MEP(s) | 52 / 751 |
| Website | http://www.guengl.eu |
European United Left–Nordic Green Left (Gauche unitaire européenne, GUE-NGL) is a left-wing political group in the European Parliament,[9] established in 1995. The group comprises political parties of socialist and communist orientation.[10][11]
Position
According to its 1994 constituent declaration, the group is opposed to the present European Union political structure, but committed to integration.[12] 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 "neo-liberal monetarist policies"; and a policy of co-development and equitable cooperation. The group wants to disband the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and "strengthen the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe" (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.[citation needed]
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.
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 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.
Member parties
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 (GUE) on 6 January 1995,[8] forming the Confederal Group of the European United Left/Nordic Green Left.[2][4][5] The NGL suffix was added to the name of the expanded group on insistence of Swedish and Finnish MEPs.[14] The group initially 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), Synaspismós of Greece, 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—which was undergoing a dispute with its leader over the party constitution—did not put forward candidates. MEPs from the Portuguese Left Bloc, Sinn Féin both from the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, the Progressive Party of Working People (AKEL) of Cyprus, and the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia joined the group.
European Parliament results
| Election year | # of overall seats won |
+/– |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 34 / 567
|
|
| 1999 | 42 / 626
|
8 
|
| 2004 | 41 / 732
|
1 
|
| 2009 | 35 / 766
|
6
|
| 2014 | 52 / 751
|
17
|
See also
- Party of the European Left
- European Anticapitalist Left
- Initiative of Communist and Workers' Parties
- List of communist parties represented in European Parliament
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[8]
- European United Left–Nordic Green Left official website[12]
References
- ^ a b "Democracy in the European Parliament" (PDF). Retrieved 2010-06-18.
- ^ a b c d "Political Groups Annual Accounts 2001-2006". Europarl.europa.eu. Retrieved 2010-06-18.
- ^ a b "Political Groups of the European Parliament". Konrad Adenauer Foundation. Archived from the original on May 17, 2011. Retrieved 2010-06-18.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ a b c "Group names 1999". Europarl.europa.eu. Retrieved 2010-06-18.
- ^ a b c d "European Parliament profile of Alonso José Puerta". Europarl.europa.eu. Retrieved 2010-06-18.
- ^ a b Nordsieck, Wolfram. "Parties and Elections in Europe". www.parties-and-elections.eu. Retrieved 2017-05-28.
- ^ "How Eurosceptic is European Parliament?". 1 July 2014 – via www.bbc.com.
- ^ a b c "EUL/NGL on Europe Politique". Europe-politique.eu. Retrieved 2010-06-18.
- ^ Andreas Staab (24 June 2011). The European Union Explained, Second Edition: Institutions, Actors, Global Impact. Indiana University Press. p. 67. ISBN 978-0-253-00164-1. Retrieved 5 August 2013.
- ^ Alexander H. Trechsel (13 September 2013). Towards a Federal Europe. Taylor & Francis. p. 72. ISBN 978-1-317-99818-1.
- ^ Marlies Casier; Joost Jongerden (9 August 2010). Nationalisms and Politics in Turkey: Political Islam, Kemalism and the Kurdish Issue. Taylor & Francis. p. 203. ISBN 978-0-203-84706-0.
- ^ a b "GUE/NGL Site". Guengl.eu. 1994-07-14. Retrieved 2014-05-28.
- ^ "Podemos acuerda con Tsipras entrar en el grupo de la Izquierda Unitaria de la Eurocámara".
- ^ Tapio Raunio; Teija Tiilikainen (5 September 2013). Finland in the European Union. Routledge. p. 59. ISBN 978-1-135-76204-9.
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