European United Left–Nordic Green Left

European United Left-Nordic Green Left (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.

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

Member states with one MEP in GUE/NGL in pink, with two or more members in red

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

Country	National Electoral Alliance	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)	3 / 21
Denmark	People's Movement against the EU		EUD	1 / 13
Finland	Left Alliance		PEL	1 / 13
France	Left Front	French Communist Party	PEL	2 / 74
		Left Party	PEL	1 / 74
	Alliance of the Overseas	Communist Party of Réunion		1 / 74
Germany	The Left		PEL	7 / 96
	Stefan Eck (independent)			1 / 96
Greece	Syriza (Coalition of the Radical Left)		PEL	5 / 21
	Popular Unity			1 / 21
Ireland	Sinn Féin			3 / 11
	Luke 'Ming' Flanagan (independent)			1 / 11
Italy	The Other Europe	Italian Left		1 / 73
		Communist Refoundation Party	PEL	1 / 73
	Barbara Spinelli (independent)			1 / 73
Netherlands	Socialist Party			2 / 26
	Party for the Animals (Partij voor de Dieren)			1 / 26
Portugal	Left Bloc		PEL EACL	1 / 21
	Unitary Democratic Coalition	Portuguese Communist Party		3 / 21
Spain	Plural Left	United Left	PEL	4 / 54
		Anova-Nationalist Brotherhood		1 / 54
	Podemos (We Can)[13]			5 / 54
	The Peoples Decide (Los Pueblos Deciden)			1 / 54
Sweden	Left Party		NGLA	1 / 20
United Kingdom	Sinn Féin			1 / 73

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