Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats
European Parliament group
Name	Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats
English abbr.	S&D[1] (23 June 2009 – present) Older: PES[2] (21 April 1993[3] – 22 June 2009) SOC[2] (1958[4] – 21 April 1993)[3] S[5] (23 June 1953[3] – 1958)[4]
French abbr.	S&D[6] (23 June 2009 – present) Older: PSE[7] (21 April 1993 – 22 June 2009) SOC[2] (1958 – 21 April 1993) S[5] (23 June 1953 – 1958)
Formal name	Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament[1] (23 June 2009 – present) Older: Socialist Group in the European Parliament[7][8] (20 July 2004[3] – 23 June 2009) Group of the Party of European Socialists[5][9] (21 April 1993[3] – 20 July 2004)[3] Socialist Group[4][10] (1958[4] – 21 April 1993)[3] Group of the Socialists[5] (23 June 1953[3] – 1958)[4]
Ideology	Social democracy[11][12] Progressivism Pro-Europeanism
Political position	Centre-left[13]
European parties	PES
Associated organisations	Progressive Alliance Socialist International
From	23 June 1953[3]
To	Present
Chaired by	Iratxe García
MEP(s)	141 / 705
Website	socialistsanddemocrats.eu

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The Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D)^[1] is the political group in the European Parliament of the Party of European Socialists (PES).^[14] The Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats was officially founded as a Socialist Group on 29 June 1953 which makes it the second oldest political group in the European Parliament after Renew Europe (Renew). It adopted its present-day name on 23 June 2009.^[15] Centre-left in orientation,^[16] the group mostly comprises social-democratic parties and is affiliated with the Progressive Alliance and Socialist International.

Until the 1999 European Parliament elections, it was the largest group in the Parliament, but since then it has always been the second-largest group. During the eighth EU Parliament Assembly, the S&D was the only Parliament group with representation from all 27 EU member states. In the current EU Parliament the S&D is currently composed of 141 members from 25 member states.

In the European Council, 8 out of 27 heads of state and government belong to PES parties and in the European Commission, 8 out of 27 Commissioners come from PES parties.

History

The Socialist Group was one of the first three groups to be created when it was founded on 23 June 1953^[3][17] in the Common Assembly of the European Coal and Steel Community. The Common Assembly was the predecessor of the European Parliament. A group bureau and secretariat was established in Luxembourg. The group continued through the creation of the appointed Parliament in 1958 and, when the Parliament became an elected body in 1979 following the first European election, the group became the largest in terms of returned MEPs. It has ever since remained the largest or second-largest Group.

In 1987, the Single European Act came into force and the group began co-operating with the European People's Party (EPP) to secure the majorities needed under the cooperation procedure.^[18] The left–right coalition between the Socialists and EPP has dominated the Parliament since then^[19] and the post of President of the Parliament has alternated between the two groups ever since, with some exceptions.^[20]

Meanwhile, the national parties making up the group were also organising themselves on a European level outside the Parliament, creating the Confederation of Socialist Parties of the European Community in 1974.^[4][5][21] The Confederation was succeeded by the Party of European Socialists (PES), in 1992.^[4][21] As a result, the parliamentary group was renamed the Group of the Party of European Socialists on 21 April 1993.^[3]

In 1999, the Parliament refused to approve the Santer Commission's handling of the EU budget. Allegations of corruption centred on two PES Commissioners, Édith Cresson and Manuel Marín. The group initially supported the Commission but later withdrew their support, forcing the Commission to resign.^[22]

The group was renamed again to the Socialist Group in the European Parliament^[7] on 20 July 2004^[3] and was given a different logo, to further distinguish the PES group organisation from the PES European political party.

In 2007, the Socialist Group was the second largest group in Parliament, with MEPs from all but two member states, Latvia and Cyprus.^[23] However, the 2009 European election saw a reduction in the number of PES MEPs returned from 2004. The group sought additional members in the Democratic Party of Italy, which was not affiliated to the PES in 2009.^[24][25] By the conclusion of the 2004–2009 parliamentary term, the Democratic Party had 8 MEPs in the Socialist Group (coming from the Democrats of the Left), but also had 8 MEPs in ALDE Group (coming from the Daisy). The Democratic Party is a big tent centre-left party, strongly influenced by social democracy and the Christian left, and had MEPs who were former Christian Democrats or had other political views.^[26] So a new and more inclusive group name had to be found.

The group was going to be named Alliance of Socialists and Democrats for Europe (ASDE) but this was seemed too similar to Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE).^[27] The name Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats was suggested on 18 June by group president Martin Schulz^[28] and it was renamed on 23 June 2009.^[15] The English abbreviation was initially unclear, being variously reported as PASD,^[29] S&D Group^[30] or PASDE.^[31][32] Dissatisfaction by Socialist MEPs towards the new name led Martin Schulz to admit that the name was still under consideration and that the group was to be referred to as the "Socialists and Democrats" until a final title was chosen.^[33] On 14 July 2009, the first day of the constitutive session of the 2009–2014 term, the full formal group name was Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament^[1] and the abbreviation was S&D.^[1]

The S&D Group joined the Progressive Alliance upon its official foundation on 22 May 2013^[34] and is a member of the organisation's board.^[35] The group was formerly an associated organisation of the Socialist International.^[36]

Presidents of the European Parliament

For presidents of the European Parliament from the group, see President of the European Parliament.

Organisation

The group is led by a President and a Bureau of vice-presidents. There is also a Treasurer and a Secretary General.^[37]

Presidents of the group

Presidents of the group include:^[38]

Chairperson		Took office	Left office	Country (Constituency)	Party
Guy Mollet		1953	1956	France	French Section of the Workers' International
Hendrik Fayat		1956	1958	Belgium	Belgian Socialist Party
Pierre-Olivier Lapie		1958	1959	France	French Section of the Workers' International
Willi Birkelbach		1959	1964	Germany	Social Democratic Party
Käte Strobel		1964	1967	Germany	Social Democratic Party
Francis Vals		1967	1974	France	French Section of the Workers' International
Georges Spénale		1974	1975	France	Socialist Party
Ludwig Fellermaier		1975	1979	Germany	Social Democratic Party
Ernest Glinne		1979	1984	Belgium (French)	Socialist Party
Rudi Arndt		1984	1989	Germany	Social Democratic Party
Jean-Pierre Cot		1989	1994	France	Socialist Party
Pauline Green		1994	1999	United Kingdom (London North)	Labour Party
Enrique Barón Crespo		1999	2004	Spain	Spanish Socialist Workers' Party
Martin Schulz		2004	2012	Germany	Social Democratic Party
Hannes Swoboda		2012	2014	Austria	Social Democratic Party
Martin Schulz		2014 (May)	2014 (June)	Germany	Social Democratic Party
Gianni Pittella		2014	2018	Italy (Southern)	Democratic Party
Udo Bullmann		2018 (March)	2019	Germany	Social Democratic Party
Iratxe García		2019	present	Spain	Spanish Socialist Workers' Party

MEPs

9th European Parliament

Main article: List of members of the European Parliament (2019–2024)

The S&D has MEPs from 26 of the 27 EU states, including 24 with more than one MEP (in red) and two (Luxembourg and Czech Republic) with exactly one MEP (pink). Ireland have no S&D MEPs.

State	National party	European party		MEPs[42]
Austria	Social Democratic Party of Austria Sozialdemokratische Partei Österreichs (SPÖ)		PES	5 / 19
Belgium	Socialist Party Parti Socialiste (PS)		PES	1 / 21
	Forward Vooruit		PES	1 / 21
Bulgaria	Bulgarian Socialist Party Българска социалистическа партия (БСП) Bulgarska sotsialisticheska partiya (BSP)		PES	5 / 17
Croatia	Social Democratic Party of Croatia Socijaldemokratska partija Hrvatske (SDP)		PES	4 / 12
Cyprus	Movement for Social Democracy Κίνημα Σοσιαλδημοκρατών (ΚΣ) Kinima Sosialdimokraton (KS)		PES	1 / 6
	Democratic Party Δημοκρατικό Κόμμα Dimokratikó Kómma (DIKO)		None	1 / 6
Czech Republic	Social Democracy Sociální demokracie (SOCDEM)[43]		PES	1 / 21
Denmark	Social Democrats Socialdemokraterne		PES	3 / 14
Estonia	Social Democratic Party Sotsiaaldemokraatlik Erakond (SDE)		PES	2 / 7
Finland	Social Democratic Party of Finland Suomen sosialidemokraattinen puolue Finlands socialdemokratiska parti		PES	2 / 14
France	Socialist Party Parti socialiste (PS)		PES	3 / 79
	Public place Place publique (PP)		None	2 / 79
	New Deal Nouvelle Donne		DiEM25	1 / 79
	Renaissance Renaissance (RE)		None	1 / 79
Germany	Social Democratic Party of Germany Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands (SPD)		PES	16 / 96
Greece	Panhellenic Socialist Movement - Movement for Change (Panellínio Sosialistikó Kínima– Kínima Allagís) (PASOK-KINAL)		PES	1 / 21
Hungary	Democratic Coalition Demokratikus Koalíció (DK)		PES	4 / 21
	Opportunity Community Esély Közösség (EK)		PES	1 / 21
Italy	Democratic Party Partito Democratico (PD)		PES	15 / 76
	Independent Giuliano Pisapia		Independent	1 / 76
Latvia	Social Democratic Party "Harmony" Sociāldemokrātiskā partija "Saskaņa" (SDPS)		PES	2 / 8
Lithuania	Social Democratic Party of Lithuania Lietuvos socialdemokratų partija (LSDP)		PES	2 / 11
Luxembourg	Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party Lëtzebuerger Sozialistesch Aarbechterpartei Parti ouvrier socialiste luxembourgeois Luxemburger Sozialistische Arbeiterpartei		PES	1 / 6
Malta	Labour Party Partit Laburista		PES	4 / 6
Netherlands	Labour Party Partij van de Arbeid (PvdA)		PES	6 / 29
Poland	New Left Nowa Lewica		PES	5 / 52
	Independents Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz, Leszek Miller		Independent	2 / 52
Portugal	Socialist Party Partido Socialista		PES	9 / 21
Romania	Social Democratic Party Partidul Social Democrat (PSD)		PES	8 / 33
	PRO Romania PRO România		None	1 / 33
	Social Liberal Humanist Party Partidul Puterii Umaniste		None	1 / 33
Slovakia	Independent Róbert Hajšel		Independent	1 / 76
Slovenia	Social Democrats Socialni demokrati		PES	2 / 8
Spain	Spanish Socialist Workers' Party Partido Socialista Obrero Español (PSOE)		PES	21 / 59
Sweden	Swedish Social Democratic Party Sveriges socialdemokratiska arbetareparti (SAP)		PES	5 / 21
European Union	Total			141 / 705

From 6th to 8th European Parliament

State	National party	European party	MEPs 2004– 2009	MEPs 2009– 2014	MEPs 2014– 2019
Austria	Social Democratic Party of Austria Sozialdemokratische Partei Österreichs	PES	7	4	5
Belgium	Socialist Party Parti Socialiste	PES	4	3	3
	Socialist Party Different Socialistische Partij Anders	PES	3	2	1
Bulgaria	Bulgarian Socialist Party Българска социалистическа партия Bulgarska sotsialisticheska partiya	PES	5	4	4
Croatia	Social Democratic Party of Croatia Socijaldemokratska partija Hrvatske	PES		5	4
Cyprus	Movement for Social Democracy Κίνημα Σοσιαλδημοκρατών Kinima Sosialdimokraton	PES		1	1
	Democratic Party Δημοκρατικό Κόμμα Dimokratikó Kómma	None	1	1	1
Czech Republic	Czech Social Democratic Party Česká strana sociálně demokratická	PES	2	7	4
Denmark	Social Democrats Socialdemokraterne	PES	5	4	3
Estonia	Social Democratic Party Sotsiaaldemokraatlik Erakond	PES	3	1	1
Finland	Social Democratic Party of Finland Suomen sosialidemokraattinen puolue Finlands socialdemokratiska parti	PES	3	2	2
France	Socialist Party Parti socialiste	PES	31	14	12
	Radical Party of the Left Parti radical de gauche	None			1
Germany	Social Democratic Party of Germany Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands	PES	24	23	27
Greece	Movement for Change (PASOK) Κίνημα Αλλαγής Kinima Allagis	PES	8	6	2
	Democratic Left Δημοκρατική Αριστερά Dimokratiki Aristera	None		1
	The River Το Ποτάμι To Potami	None			2
Hungary	Hungarian Socialist Party Magyar Szocialista Párt	PES	9	4	2
	Democratic Coalition Demokratikus Koalíció	None			2
Ireland	Labour Party Páirtí an Lucht Oibre	PES	1	3
	Nessa Childers (Independent)	None			1
Italy	Democrats of the Left[44] Democratici di Sinistra	PES	12
	Democratic Party Partito Democratico	PES		21	31
	Italian Democratic Socialists[45] Socialisti Democratici Italiani	PES	2
	Article 1 – Democratic and Progressive Movement Articolo Uno – Movimento Democratico e Progressista	None			3
	Italian Left Sinistra Italiana	None			1
	Possible Possibile	None			1
	United in the Olive Tree Uniti nell'Ulivo	None	2
Latvia	Social Democratic Party "Harmony" Sociāldemokrātiskā partija "Saskaņa"	PES		1	1
Lithuania	Social Democratic Party of Lithuania Lietuvos socialdemokratų partija	PES	2	3	2
Luxembourg	Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party Lëtzebuerger Sozialistesch Aarbechterpartei Parti ouvrier socialiste luxembourgeois Luxemburger Sozialistische Arbeiterpartei	PES	1	1	1
Malta	Labour Party Partit Laburista	PES	3	4	3
Netherlands	Labour Party Partij van de Arbeid	PES	7	3	3
Poland	Democratic Left Alliance-Labor Union Sojusz Lewicy Demokratycznej – Unia Pracy	PES	5	7	5
	Social Democratic Party of Poland Socjaldemokracja Polska	None	3
Portugal	Socialist Party Partido Socialista	PES	12	7	8
Romania	Social Democratic Party Partidul Social Democrat	PES	10	11	14
Slovakia	Direction – Social Democracy Smer – sociálna demokracia	PES	3	5	4
Slovenia	Social Democrats Socialni demokrati	PES	1	2	1
Spain	Spanish Socialist Workers' Party Partido Socialista Obrero Español	PES	24	21	14
Sweden	Swedish Social Democratic Party Sveriges socialdemokratiska arbetareparti	PES	5	5	5
	Feminist Initiative Feministiskt initiativ	None			1
United Kingdom	Labour Party	PES	19	13	20
Total			215	184	190

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats.

• Socialists & Democrats Group website