Party of European Socialists

This article is about the europarty established in 1992. For the Socialists & Democrats Group in the European Parliament, see Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats.

The Party of European Socialists (PES) is a social democratic^[9][10] European political party.^[11]

Party of European Socialists Official names: see below
Abbreviation	PES
President	Stefan Löfven (SE)
Secretary-General	Giacomo Filibeck (IT)
Founded	9 November 1992; 32 years ago (1992-11-09)
Preceded by	Confederation of the Socialist Parties of the European Community (1973)
Headquarters	Rue Guimard 10, 1040 Brussels, Belgium
Think tank	Foundation for European Progressive Studies
Youth wing	Young European Socialists
Women's wing	PES Women
Membership (26 January 2025)	9[1]
Ideology	Social democracy Pro-Europeanism
Political position	Centre-left[2][3]
European Parliament group	Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats
International affiliation	Progressive Alliance[4] Socialist International[5]
Colours	Red
European Parliament	136 / 720 (19%) [6]
European Council	4 / 27 (15%) [7]
European Commission	4 / 27 (15%) [8]
European Lower Houses	2,327 / 6,312
European Upper Houses	645 / 1,498
Website
pes.eu
Politics of European Union Political parties Elections

The PES comprises national-level political parties from all the European economic area states (EEA) plus the United Kingdom. This includes major parties such as the Social Democratic Party of Germany, the French Socialist Party, the British Labour Party, the Italian Democratic Party, the Portuguese Socialist Party, the Romanian Social Democrat Party and the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party. Parties from a number of other European countries and from the Mediterranean region are also admitted to the PES as associate or observer parties.^[12] Most member, associate, and observer parties are members of the wider Progressive Alliance or Socialist International.^[4][5]

The PES is currently led by its president, Stefan Löfven, a former Prime Minister of Sweden. Its political group in the European Parliament is the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D). The PES also operates in the European Committee of the Regions (in the PES Group in the Committee of the Regions) and the European Council.

Name

The party's English name is "Party of European Socialists". In addition, the following names are used in other languages:

• Albanian: Partia e Socialistëve Europianë
• Bosnian: Stranka evropskih socijalista
• Bulgarian: Партия на европейските социалисти
• Croatian: Stranka europskih socijalista
• Czech: Strana evropských socialistů
• Danish: De Europæiske Socialdemokrater
• Dutch: Partij van Europese Socialisten
• Estonian: Euroopa Sotsialistlik Partei
• Finnish: Euroopan sosialidemokraattinen puolue
• French: Parti socialiste européen
• German: Sozialdemokratische Partei Europas
• Greek: Ευρωπαϊκό Σοσιαλιστικό Κόμμα
• Hungarian: Európai Szocialisták Pártja
• Icelandic: Flokkur evrópskra sósíalista
• Irish: Páirtí na Sóisialaithe Eorpach
• Italian: Partito del Socialismo Europeo
• Latvian: Eiropas Sociāldemokrātiskā partija
• Lithuanian: Europos socialistų partija
• Luxembourgish: Partei vun den Europäesche Sozialisten
• Macedonian: Партија на европските социјалисти
• Maltese: Partit tas-Soċjalisti Ewropej
• Norwegian: Det europeiske sosialdemokratiske partiet
• Polish: Partia Europejskich Socjalistów
• Portuguese: Partido Socialista Europeu
• Romanian: Partidul Socialiștilor Europeni
• Serbian: Партија европских социјалиста
• Slovak: Strana európskych socialistov
• Slovene: Stranka evropskih socialistov
• Spanish: Partido Socialista Europeo
• Swedish: Europeiska socialdemokratiska partiet
• Turkish: Avrupa Sosyalistler Partisi

In March 2014 following the congress in Rome, the PES added the tagline "Socialists and Democrats" to its name following the admission of Italy's Democratic Party into the organisation.^[13]

History

1960s

In 1961, the Socialists in the European Parliament attempted to produce a common 'European Socialist Programme' but this was neglected due to the applications of Britain, Denmark, Ireland and Norway to join the European Community. The Socialists' 1962 congress pushed for greater democratisation and powers for Parliament, though it was only in 1969 that this possibility was examined by the member states.^[14]

1970s

In 1973, Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom joined the European Community, bringing in new parties from these countries. The enlarged Socialist Congress met in Bonn and inaugurated the Confederation of the Socialist Parties of the European Community. The Congress also passed a resolution on social policy, including the right to decent work, social security, democracy and equality in the European economy.^[15] In 1978, the Confederation of Socialist Parties approved the first common European election Manifesto. It focused on several goals among which the most important were to ensure a right to decent work, fight pollution, end discrimination, protect the consumer and promote peace, human rights and civil liberties.

1980s

At its Luxembourg Congress in 1980, the Confederation of Socialist Parties approved its first Statute. The accession of Greece to the EU in 1981, followed by Spain and Portugal in 1986, brought in more parties.

In 1984, a common Socialist election manifesto proposed a socialist remedy for the economic crisis of the time by establishing a link between industrial production, protection of fundamental social benefits, and the fight for an improved quality of life.^[15]

1990s

In 1992, with the European Community becoming the European Union and with the Treaty of Maastricht establishing the framework for political parties at a European level, the Confederation of Socialist Parties voted to transform itself into the Party of European Socialists. The party's first programme concentrated on job creation, democracy, gender equality, environmental and consumer protection, peace and security, regulation of immigration, discouragement of racism and fighting organised crime.^[15]

Along with the Socialist Group in the European Parliament, the founding members of the PES were:^[16]

• Social Democratic Party of Austria
• Socialist Party (Francophone) and the Socialist Party (Flemish) of Belgium
• Social Democrats of Denmark
• Socialist Party of France
• Social Democratic Party of Germany
• Panhellenic Socialist Movement of Greece
• Labour Party of Ireland
• Italian Democratic Socialist Party, Italian Socialist Party and Democratic Party of the Left of Italy
• Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party
• Labour Party of the Netherlands
• Socialist Party of Portugal
• Spanish Socialist Workers' Party
• Swedish Social Democratic Party
• Labour Party and Social Democratic and Labour Party of the UK

2000s

In 2004, Poul Nyrup Rasmussen defeated Giuliano Amato to be elected President of the PES, succeeding Robin Cook in the post. He was re-elected for a further 2.5 years at the PES Congress in Porto on 8 December 2006 and again at the Prague Congress in 2009.

2010s

In 2010, the Foundation for European Progressive Studies was founded as the European political foundation (think tank) of the PES.

Mr Rasmussen stood down at the PES Progressive Convention in Brussels on 24 November 2011. He was replaced as interim president by Sergey Stanishev, at the time chairman of the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) and former prime minister of Bulgaria.

On 28–29 September 2012, the PES Congress in Brussels^[17] Congress elected interim president Sergey Stanishev as full President, as well as four deputies: Jean-Christophe Cambadélis (1st Vice-President – PS), Elena Valenciano (PSOE), Jan Royall (Labour) and Katarína Neveďalová (Smer-SD). The same Congress elected Achim Post (SPD) as its new secretary general, and adopted a process which it described as "democratic and transparent" for electing its next candidate for Commission President in 2014.^[18] Sergey Stanishev was re-elected PES President on 22–23 June 2015 in Budapest. The Congress also approved Achim Post (SPD) as the Secretary-General as well as the four Vice-Presidents: Jean-Christophe Cambadélis (PS), Carin Jämtin (Swedish Social Democratic Party), Katarína Neveďalová (Smer-SD) and Jan Royall (Labour).

On 7–8 December 2018, the PES Congress gathered in Lisbon to elect its leadership. Sergey Stanishev was confirmed as party President and Achim Post (SPD) as secretary general. Iratxe García (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party) was elected by the new presidency 1st Vice-President of the PES and Francisco André (Socialist Party (Portugal)), Katarína Neveďalová (Smer-SD) and Marita Ulvskog (Swedish Social Democratic Party) were elected PES Vice-Presidents. During the PES Presidency of October 2019, Heléne Fritzon (Swedish Social Democratic Party) became PES Vice-President, replacing Marita Ulvskog.

On 22–23 February 2019, the PES held its Election Congress in Madrid to endorse a Common Candidate and adopt its manifesto for the 2019 European Parliament election. The Election Congress acclaimed European Commission First Vice-President Frans Timmermans and adopted its manifesto: A New Social Contract for Europe.^[19]

2020s

On 16 December 2021, the PES held its Council in Brussels, adopting the resolution: Fairness, Sustainability, Respect: a progressive vision for the future of Europe.^[20]

On 14–15 October 2022, the PES Congress in Berlin elected Stefan Löfven (Swedish Social Democratic Party) as PES President and welcomed a new PES leadership team:^[21] Caroline Gennez (Vooruit (political party)) as Treasurer, Iratxe García (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party) as First Vice President, Katarina Barley (SPD) and Francisco André (Socialist Party (Portugal)) as Executive Vice Presidents, Tanja Fajon (Social Democrats (Slovenia)), Victor Negrescu (Social Democratic Party (Romania)), Kati Piri (Labour Party (Netherlands)), Andrzej Szejna (New Left), and Radmila Šekerinska (Social Democratic Union of Macedonia) as Vice Presidents. Achim Post (SPD) continued as Secretary General, Giacomo Filibeck (Democratic Party (Italy)) took up the position of Executive Secretary General, Yonnec Polet (Socialist Party (Belgium)) remained as Deputy Secretary General, and Saar van Bueren (Labour Party (Netherlands)) became Deputy Secretary General. The Congress adopted the resolution: With Courage For Europe: leading Europe through change.^[22]

On 29 June 2023, Georgian Dream was removed from the PES due to activities and positions far outside PES values.^[23]

On 12 October, after the 2023 Slovak parliamentary election, the PES suspended Smer-SD and Hlas-SD over their plans to enter into coalition with the ultranationalist Slovak National Party (SNS), which the PES views as a "radical-right party."^[24]

On 2 March 2024, the PES held its Election Congress in Rome and acclaimed European Commissioner Nicolas Schmit as presidential candidate and adopted its election programme.^[25]

Membership

The PES has thirty-three full member parties from each of the twenty-seven EU member states, Norway and the UK. There are a further twelve associate and twelve observer parties from other European countries.^[26]

Full members

State	Name	abbr.	MEPs[a]	National MPs
Austria	Social Democratic Party of Austria Sozialdemokratische Partei Österreichs	SPÖ	5 / 19	40 / 183 19 / 62
Belgium	Socialist Party Parti socialiste	PS	2 / 8 [. 1]	19 / 63 7 / 24 [. 1]
	Forward Vooruit	Vooruit	1 / 13 [. 2]	9 / 87 4 / 35 [. 2]
Bulgaria	Bulgarian Socialist Party Българска социалистическа партия Bulgarska sotsialisticheska partiya	BSP	2 / 17	18 / 240
Croatia	Social Democratic Party of Croatia Socijaldemokratska partija Hrvatske	SDP	4 / 12	37 / 151
Cyprus	Movement for Social Democracy Κίνημα Σοσιαλδημοκρατών Kinima Sosialdimokraton	EDEK	1 / 6	4 / 56
Czech Republic	Social Democracy Sociální demokracie	SOCDEM	0 / 21	0 / 200 1 / 81
Denmark	Social Democrats Socialdemokraterne	A	3 / 14	49 / 179
Estonia	Social Democratic Party Sotsiaaldemokraatlik Erakond	SDE	2 / 7	9 / 101
Finland	Social Democratic Party of Finland Suomen sosialidemokraattinen puolue Finlands socialdemokratiska parti	SDP	2 / 14	43 / 200
France	Socialist Party Parti socialiste	PS	3 / 79	65 / 348 28 / 577
Germany	Social Democratic Party of Germany Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands	SPD	16 / 96	206 / 735 (Bundestag) 19 / 69 (Bundesrat)
Greece	PASOK – Movement for Change Πανελλήνιο Σοσιαλιστικό Κίνημα – Κίνημα Αλλαγής Panellínio Sosialistikó Kínima– Kínima Allagís	PASOK-KINAL	2 / 21	23 / 300
Hungary	Democratic Coalition Demokratikus Koalíció	DK	2 / 21	16 / 199
	Hungarian Socialist Party Magyar Szocialista Párt	MSZP	0 / 21	10 / 199
Ireland	Labour Party Páirtí an Lucht Oibre	Lab	1 / 14	4 / 60 7 / 160
Italy	Democratic Party Partito Democratico	PD	21 / 76	39 / 200 71 / 400
	Italian Socialist Party Partito Socialista Italiano	PSI	0 / 76	0 / 200 0 / 400
Latvia	Social Democratic Party "Harmony"[27] Sociāldemokrātiskā partija "Saskaņa"	SDPS	1 / 8	0 / 100
Lithuania	Social Democratic Party of Lithuania Lietuvos socialdemokratų partija	LSDP	2 / 11	52 / 141
Luxembourg	Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party Lëtzebuerger Sozialistesch Aarbechterpartei Parti ouvrier socialiste luxembourgeois Luxemburger Sozialistische Arbeiterpartei	LSAP	1 / 6	10 / 60
Malta	Labour Party Partit Laburista	PL	4 / 6	38 / 69
Netherlands	Labour Party Partij van de Arbeid	PvdA	6 / 29	6 / 75 9 / 150
Norway	Labour Party Arbeiderpartiet	AP	Not in EU	48 / 169
Poland	New Left Nowa Lewica	NL	5 / 52	9 / 100 26 / 460
Portugal	Socialist Party Partido Socialista	PS	9 / 21	78 / 230
Romania	Social Democratic Party Partidul Social Democrat	PSD	8 / 33	47 / 136 109 / 330
Slovakia	Direction – Social Democracy (suspended) Smer – sociálna demokracia	SMER-SD	5 / 15	42 / 150
Slovenia	Social Democrats Socialni demokrati	SD	2 / 8	7 / 90
Spain	Spanish Socialist Workers' Party Partido Socialista Obrero Español	PSOE	21 / 58	89 / 265 121 / 350
Sweden	Swedish Social Democratic Party Sveriges socialdemokratiska arbetareparti	SAP	5 / 21	107 / 349
United Kingdom	Labour Party	Labour	Not in EU	168 / 794 411 / 632
	Social Democratic and Labour Party Páirtí Sóisialta Daonlathach an Lucht Oibre	SDLP	Not in EU	0 / 794 2 / 18

Associated members

State	Name	abbr.	MEPs	National MPs
Albania	Socialist Party of Albania Partia Socialiste e Shqipërisë	PSS		74 / 140
Bosnia and Herzegovina	Social Democratic Party of Bosnia and Herzegovina Socijaldemokratska partija Bosne i Hercegovine	SDP		0 / 15 5 / 42
Bulgaria	Party of Bulgarian Social Democrats Партия Български социалдемократи Partiya Bulgarski Sotsialdemokrati	PBS	0 / 17	1 / 240
Iceland	Social Democratic Alliance Samfylkingin	Samf.		15 / 63
Moldova	European Social Democratic Party Partidul Social Democrat European	PSDE		0 / 101
Montenegro	Democratic Party of Socialists of Montenegro Demokratska partija socijalista Crne Gore	DPS		17 / 81
	Social Democratic Party of Montenegro Socijaldemokratska partija Crne Gore	SDP		0 / 81
North Macedonia	Social Democratic Union of Macedonia Социјалдемократски сојуз на Македонија Socijaldemokratski Sojuz na Makedonija	SDSM		39 / 120
Slovakia	Voice – Social Democracy (suspended) Hlas – sociálna demokracia	Hlas-SD	1 / 15	27 / 150
Serbia	Democratic Party Демократска странка Demokratska stranka	DS		8 / 250
Switzerland	Social Democratic Party of Switzerland Sozialdemokratische Partei der Schweiz Parti socialiste suisse Partito Socialista Svizzero Partida Socialdemocrata de la Svizra	SP/PS		39 / 200 9 / 46
Turkey	Republican People's Party Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi	CHP		130 / 600
	Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party Halkların Eşitlik ve Demokrasi Partisi Partiya Wekhevî û Demokrasiya Gelan	DEM		57 / 600

Observer members

State	Name	abbr.	MEPs	National MPs
Andorra	Social Democratic Party Partit Socialdemòcrata	PS		3 / 28
Armenia	Armenian Revolutionary Federation Հայ Յեղափոխական Դաշնակցութիւն Hay Yeghap’vokhakan Dashnakts’ut’iwn	ARF		10 / 107
Belarus	Hramada Беларуская сацыял-дэмакратычная партыя (Грамада́) Biełaruskaja sacyjał-demakratyčeskaja partija (Hromada)	БСДП		Parties banned by the Lukashenko regime
	Narodna Hramada Беларуская сацыял-дэмакратычная партыя (Народная Грамада) Bielaruskaja Sacyjal-Demakratyčnaja Partyja (Narodnaja Hramada)	БСДП (НГ)
Egypt	Egyptian Social Democratic Party الحزب المصرى الديمقراطى الاجتماعى al-Ḥizb al-Maṣrī al-Dimuqrāṭī al-Ijtmāʿī	ESDP		4 / 596
Israel	Democrats הדמוקרטים	Democrats		4 / 120
Kosovo	Self-Determination Movement Lëvizja Vetëvendosje	LVV		56 / 120
Latvia	Latvian Social Democratic Workers' Party Latvijas Sociāldemokrātiskā strādnieku partija	LSDSP	0 / 8	0 / 100
Morocco	Socialist Union of Popular Forces الاتحاد الاشتراكي للقوات الشعبية Al-Ittihad Al-Ishtirakiy Lilqawat Al-Sha'abiyah Union Socialiste des Forces Populaires	USFP		24 / 270 20 / 395
Northern Cyprus	Republican Turkish Party Cumhuriyetçi Türk Partisi	CTP		12 / 50
Palestine	Fatah فتح Fatḥ	فتح		45 / 132
Romania	PRO Romania PRO România	PRO	0 / 33	0 / 330
San Marino	Party of Socialists and Democrats Partito dei Socialisti e dei Democratici	PSD		3 / 60
Serbia	Party of Freedom and Justice Странка слободе и правде Stranka slobode i pravde	SSP		16 / 250
Tunisia	Democratic Forum for Labour and Liberties التكتل الديمقراطي من أجل العمل والحريات at-Takattul ad-Dīmuqrāṭī min ajl il-‘Amal wal-Ḥurriyyāt Forum démocratique pour le travail et les libertés	FDTL		0 / 217

1. French-speaking seats
2. Flemish seats

Organisation

Constituent organisations

The youth organisation of the PES is the Young European Socialists. PES Women is the party's women's organisation, led by Zita Gurmai. The LGBTI campaign organisation is Rainbow Rose.^[28]

International memberships

PES is an associated organisation of Socialist International and the Progressive Alliance.

President and Presidency

The President (currently former Prime Minister of Sweden Stefan Löfven) represents the party on a daily basis and chairs the Presidency, which also consists of the Secretary General, President of the S&D group in Parliament and one representative per full/associate member party and organisation. They may also be joined by the President of the European Parliament (if a PES member), a PES European Commissioner and a representative from associate parties and organisations.^[28]

The list below shows PES presidents and the presidents of its predecessors.^[29]

President		State	National party	Term		Photo
1.	Wilhelm Dröscher	West Germany	Social Democratic Party of Germany	April 1974	January 1979
2.	Robert Pontillon	France	Socialist Party	January 1979	March 1980
3.	Joop den Uyl	Netherlands	Labour Party	March 1980	May 1987
4.	Vítor Constâncio	Portugal	Socialist Party	May 1987	January 1989
5.	Guy Spitaels	Belgium	Socialist Party	February 1989	May 1992
6.	Willy Claes	Belgium	Socialist Party	November 1992	October 1994
7.	Rudolf Scharping	Germany	Social Democratic Party of Germany	March 1995	May 2001
8.	Robin Cook	United Kingdom	Labour Party	May 2001	24 April 2004
9.	Poul Nyrup Rasmussen	Denmark	Social Democrats	24 April 2004	24 November 2011
10.	Sergey Stanishev	Bulgaria	Bulgarian Socialist Party	24 November 2011	14 October 2022
11.	Stefan Löfven	Sweden	Swedish Social Democratic Workers' Party	14 October 2022	–

Governance

The parties meet at the party Congress twice every five years to decide on political orientation, such as adopting manifestos ahead of elections. Every year that the Congress does not meet, the Council (a smaller version of the Congress) shapes PES policy. The Congress also elects the party's President, Vice-Presidents and the Presidency.^[28]

The Leader's Conference brings together Prime Ministers and Party Leaders from PES parties three to four times a year to agree strategies and resolutions.^[28]

European election primaries

In December 2009, the PES decided to put forward a candidate for Commission President at all subsequent elections.^[30] On 1 March 2014, the PES organised for the first time a European election Congress where a Common Manifesto^[31] was adopted and the Common Candidate designate for the post of Commission President, Martin Schulz, was elected by over a thousand participants in Rome, Italy. In 2019, progressives elected Frans Timmermans as PES Common Candidate to the European Elections, during the Election Congress in Madrid on 22–23 February 2019.

PES in the European institutions

Overview of the European institutions

Organisation	Institution	Number of seats
European Union	European Parliament	136 / 720 (19%) [6]
	European Commission	4 / 27 (15%) [8]
	European Council (Heads of Government)	4 / 27 (15%) [7]
	Council of the European Union (Participation in Government)	11 / 27 (41%)
	Committee of the Regions	86 / 329 (26%) [32]
Council of Europe	Parliamentary Assembly	157 / 612 (26%) (SOC)[33]

European Parliament

Further information: Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats

European Commission

European Commissioners are meant to remain independent, however there has been an increasing degree of politicisation within the Commission.^[34] In the current European Commission, five of the Commissioners belong to the PES family.

Portfolio	Commissioner	State	Political party	Photo
Executive Vice-President for a Clean, Just and Competitive Transition	Teresa Ribera	Spain	PSOE
Executive Vice-President for Social Rights and Skills, Quality Jobs and Preparedness	Roxana Mînzatu	Romania	PSD
Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security; Commissioner for Interinstitutional Relations and Transparency	Maroš Šefčovič	Slovakia	Smer–SD (susp.)
Commissioner for Energy and Housing	Dan Jørgensen	Denmark	S
Commissioner for Intergenerational Fairness, Youth, Culture and Sport	Glenn Micallef	Malta	PL

European Council

Of the 27 heads of state and government that are members of the European Council, four are from the PES, and therefore regularly attend PES summits to prepare for European Council meetings.

Member State	Representative	Title	Political party		Member of the Council since	Photo
Denmark	Mette Frederiksen	Prime Minister		Social Democrats	27 June 2019
Germany	Olaf Scholz	Chancellor		SPD	8 December 2021
Malta	Robert Abela	Prime Minister		PL	13 January 2020
Spain	Pedro Sánchez	Prime Minister		PSOE	2 June 2018

In third countries

Through its associate and observer parties the PES has eight heads of state or government in non-EU countries:

State	Representative	Title	Political party		In power since	Portrait
Albania	Edi Rama	Prime Minister		PS	13 September 2013
Bosnia and Herzegovina	Denis Bećirović	Bosniak Member of the Presidency		SDP BiH	16 November 2022
Norway	Jonas Gahr Støre	Prime Minister		A/Ap	14 October 2021
Switzerland	Élisabeth Baume-Schneider	Councillor		SP	1 January 2023
	Beat Jans				1 January 2024
United Kingdom	Keir Starmer	Prime Minister		Labour	5 July 2024

European Council and Council of Ministers

Party-alignment at the European Council is often loose, but has been the basis of some intergovernmental cooperation. At present five countries are led by a PES-affiliated leader, who represents that state at the European Council: Germany (Olaf Scholz), Spain (Pedro Sánchez), Malta (Robert Abela), and Denmark (Mette Frederiksen).

The makeup of national delegations to the Council of Ministers is at some times subject to coalitions: for the above governments led by a PES party, that party may not be present in all Council configurations; in other governments led by non-PES parties a PES minister may be its representative for certain portfolios. PES is in coalition in the following countries: Romania, Belgium, Slovenia and Estonia.

Overview

State	Governing parties	Affiliated EU party	Population
Germany	Social Democratic Party Alliance 90/The Greens	PES EGP	83,166,711
Spain	Spanish Socialist Workers' Party Sumar United Left Catalunya en Comú Más Madrid	PES None PEL EGP None	48.619.695
Poland	Civic Coalition New Left Poland 2050 Polish People’s Party Modern Polish Initiative	EPP PES ALDE EPP ALDE None	38,036,118
Romania	Social Democratic Party National Liberal Party Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania	PES EPP EPP	19,064,409
Belgium	New Flemish Alliance Reformist Movement Les Engagés Vooruit Christian Democratic and Flemish	EFA ALDE EDP PES EPP	11,763,650
Bulgaria	GERB Bulgarian Socialist Party There is Such a People	EPP PES ECR	6,445,481
Denmark	Social Democrats Venstre Moderates	PES ALDE None	5,982,117
Slovenia	Freedom Movement Social Democrats The Left	None PES PEL	2,129,052
Estonia	Estonian Reform Party Social Democratic Party Estonia 200	ALDE PES None	1,373,101
Malta	Labour Party	PES	514,564

Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe

Further information: Socialist Group

Committee of the Regions

PES has 122 members in the Committee of the Regions as of 2014.^[35]

Election results

European Parliament

Year		Lead Candidate	Seats %	Seats	+/-	Status	Ref
2019	Pre-Brexit	Frans Timmermans	19.4 (#2)	146 / 751		Coalition	[36]
	Post-Brexit		19.7 (#2)	139 / 705	7
2024		Nicolas Schmit	17.6 (#2)	127 / 720	12	Coalition	[37][38]

See also

• European political party
• Authority for European Political Parties and European Political Foundations
• European political foundation

Notes

1. The number of MEPs listed below may not match the total number of MEPs of the European party, as it does not include MEPs who join as individual members.