English abbr. GUE-NGL | French abbr. GUE-NGL | |
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Name European United Left-Nordic Green Left Formal name Confederal Group of the European United Left/Nordic Green Left Ideology Democratic socialism (majority)
Communism (minority)
Soft Euroscepticism European parties Party of the European Left, European Anti-Capitalist Left | ||
European United Left-Nordic Green Left (GUE-NGL) is a left-wing political group in the European Parliament, established in 1995. The group comprises political parties of socialist and communist orientation.
Contents
Position
According to its 1994 constituent declaration, the group is opposed to the present European Union political structure, but committed to integration. 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
MEPs may be full or associate members.
National parties may be full or associate members.
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, forming the Confederal Group of the European United Left/Nordic Green Left. The NGL suffix was added to the name of the expanded group on insistence of Swedish and Finnish MEPs. 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 was dissolved. 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.