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Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats
European parliamentary group
Name	Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats
English abbr.	S&D[1] (23 June 2009 to present) PES[2] (21 April 1993[3] to 22 June 2009) SOC[2] (1958[4] to 21 April 1993)[3] S[5] (23 June 1953[3] to 1958)[4]
French abbr.	S&D[6] (23 June 2009 to present) PSE[7] (21 April 1993 to 22 June 2009) SOC[2] (1958 to 21 April 1993) S[5] (23 June 1953 to 1958)
Formal name	Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament[1] (23 June 2009 to present) Socialist Group in the European Parliament[7][8] (20 July 2004[3] to 23 June 2009) Group of the Party of European Socialists[5][9] (21 April 1993[3] to 20 July 2004)[3] Socialist Group[4][10] (1958[4] to 21 April 1993)[3] Group of the Socialists[5] (23 June 1953[3] to 1958)[4]
Ideology	Social democracy[11][12] Pro-Europeanism
European parties	Party of European Socialists
Associated organisations	Progressive Alliance Socialist International
From	23 June 1953[3]
To	Present
Chaired by	Udo Bullmann
MEP(s)	190 / 751
Website	www.socialistsanddemocrats.eu

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).^[13] 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 ALDE. It adopted its present-day name on 23 June 2009.^[14]Centre-left in orientation,^[15] the group mostly comprises social-democratic parties and is affiliated with the Progressive Alliance.

Until the 1999 European Parliament elections, it was the largest group in the Parliament, but since those elections it has constantly been the second-largest group. During the 8th EU Parliament Assembly, the S&D is the only Parliament group with representation from all 28 EU member states.

In the European Council, 8 out of 28 Heads of State and Government belong to the S&D Group and in the European Commission, 8 out of 28 Commissioners come from PES parties.

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History

The Socialist Group was one of the first three groups to be created when it was founded on 23 June 1953^[3][16] 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.^[17] The left–right coalition between the Socialists and EPP has dominated the Parliament since then^[18] and (with some exceptions^[19]) the post of President of the Parliament has been split between the two groups ever since.

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][20] The Confederation was succeeded by the Party of European Socialists (PES), in 1992.^[4][20] 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.^[21]

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.^[22] 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.^[23][24] By the conclusion of the 2004-2009 parliamentary term, the Democratic Party had 8 MEPs in the Socialist Group (coming from 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.^[25] 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).^[26] The name Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats was suggested on 18 June by group president Martin Schulz^[27] and it was renamed on 23 June 2009.^[14] The English abbreviation was initially unclear, being variously reported as PASD,^[28] S&D Group^[29] or PASDE.^[30][31] 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.^[32] 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^[33] and is a member of the organisation's board.^[34] The group was formerly an Associated Organisation of the Socialist International.^[35]

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.^[36]

Presidents of the Group

Presidents of the Group include:^[37]

Number	President	State	National party	From	To
1.	Guy Mollet	France	French Section of the Workers' International (SFIO)	1953	1956
2.	Hendrik Fayat	Belgium	Socialist Party (PS)	1956	1958
3.	Pierre Lapie	France	French Section of the Workers' International (SFIO)	1958	1959
4.	Willi Birkelbach	Germany	Social Democratic Party (SPD)	1959	1964
5.	Käte Strobel	Germany	Social Democratic Party (SPD)	1964	1967
6.	Francis Vals	France	French Section of the Workers' International (SFIO)	1967	1974
7.	Georges Spénale	France	Socialist Party (PS)	1974	1975
8.	Ludwig Fellermaier[38]	Germany	Social Democratic Party (SPD)	1975	1979
9.	Ernest Glinne	Belgium	Socialist Party (PS)	1979	1984
10.	Rudi Arndt	Germany	Social Democratic Party (SPD)	1984	1989
11.	Jean-Pierre Cot	France	Socialist Party (PS)	1989	1994
12.	Pauline Green	United Kingdom	Labour Party	1994	1999
13.	Enrique Barón Crespo	Spain	Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE)	1999	2004
14.	Martin Schulz	Germany	Social Democratic Party (SPD)	2004	2012
15.	Hannes Swoboda	Austria	Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ)	2012	2014
16.	Martin Schulz	Germany	Social Democratic Party (SPD)	2014 (May)	2014 (June)
17.	Gianni Pittella	Italy	Democratic Party (PD)	2014	2018

Vice-Presidents

Current Vice-Presidents of the group appointed at the mid-term constitution of the group in December 2016 ^[39]

• 
  Victor Boştinaru (Romania),


• 
  Udo Bullmann (Germany),


• 
  Tanja Fajon (Slovenia),


• 
  Jeppe Kofod (Denmark),


• 
  Maria João Rodrigues (Portugal),


• 
  Isabelle Thomas (France),


• 
  Elena Valenciano (Spain),


• 
  Kathleen Van Brempt (Belgium),


• 
  Péter Niedermüller (Hungary)

Previous Vice-Presidents of the group appointed at the start of the current legislature in 2014 ^[40]

• 
  Victor Boştinaru (Romania),


• 
  Tanja Fajon (Slovenia),


• 
  Isabelle Thomas (France),


• 
  Enrique Guerrero Salom (Spain),


• 
  Marju Lauristin (Estonia),


• 
  Jörg Leichtfried (Austria),


• 
  Knut Fleckenstein (Germany),


• 
  Maria João Rodrigues (Portugal),


• 
  Kathleen Van Brempt (Belgium),


• 
  Péter Niedermüller (Hungary)

Previous Vice-Presidents of the group appointed at the start of the 2009 legislature:^[41]

• 
  María Badía i Cutchet (PSOE, Spain) – Communication Policy and Public Relations


• 
  Monika Beňová (Smer, Slovakia) – Europe of the Citizens


• 
  Véronique De Keyser (PS, Belgium) – Human Rights, Development and International Trade


• 
  Stephen Hughes (Labour, United Kingdom) – Economy and Social Policy


• 
  Stéphane Le Foll (PS, France) – Budget and Territorial Cohesion


• 
  Adrian Severin (PSD, Romania) – Foreign Policy and Defence


• 
  Gianluca Susta (PD, Italy) – Agriculture and Fisheries


• 
  Hannes Swoboda (SPÖ, Austria) – Parliamentary Affairs and Relations with International Organisations


• 
  Marita Ulvskog (SAP, Sweden) – Sustainable Development and Competition

Previous Vice-Presidents of the group for the 2004-2009 term were as follows:

• 
  Harlem Désir (PS, France)^[36]
  


• 
  Bárbara Dührkop Dührkop (PSOE, Spain)^[36]
  


• 
  Robert Goebbels (LSAP, Luxembourg)^[36]
  


• 
  Linda McAvan (Labour Party, UK)^[36]
  


• Pasqualina Napolitano (Sinistra Democratica, Italy)^[36]
  


• 
  Hannes Swoboda (SPÖ, Austria)^[36]
  


• 
  Kristian Vigenin (BSP, Bulgaria)^[36]
  


• 
  Jan Marinus Wiersma (PvdA, Netherlands)^[36]
  

Treasurers

Current/previous Treasurers of the group are as follows:

• 
  Magda Kósáné Kovács (Hungary, MSZP)^[36]
  

Secretaries General

Current/previous Secretaries General of the group are as follows:

• Manfred Michel (West Germany)c1970-c1985


• Paolo Falcone (Italy)c1986-1989


• 
  Julian Priestley (UK)1989-1994


• Joan Prat (Spain)1994-1999 (Deputy Sec Gen Richard Corbett UK)


• Christine Verger (France)1999-2004


• David Harley (UK)2004-2006


• Anna Colombo (Italy)^[36] since 2006

MEPs

MEPs from the following parties sit in the group:^[42]

The S&D has MEPs from all 28 EU states, including 25 with more than one MEP (in red) and three with exactly one MEP each (pink).

State	National party	European party	MEPs 2004- 2009	MEPs 2009- 2014	MEPs 2014– 2019
Austria	Social Democratic Party of Austria	PES	7	4	5
Belgium	Socialist Party	PES	4	3	3
	Socialist Party Different	PES	3	2	1
Bulgaria	Bulgarian Socialist Party	PES	5	4	4
Croatia	Social Democratic Party of Croatia	PES		5	2
Cyprus	Movement for Social Democracy	PES		1	1
	Democratic Party	None	1	1	1
Czech Republic	Czech Social Democratic Party	PES	2	7	4
Denmark	Social Democrats	PES	5	4	3
Estonia	Social Democratic Party	PES	3	1	1
Finland	Social Democratic Party of Finland	PES	3	2	2
France	Socialist Party	PES	31	14	12
	Radical Party of the Left	None			1
Germany	Social Democratic Party of Germany	PES	24	23	27
Greece	Panhellenic Socialist Movement	PES	8	6	2
	Democratic Left	None		1
	The River	None			2
Hungary	Hungarian Socialist Party	PES	9	4	2
	Democratic Coalition	None			2
Ireland	Labour Party	PES	1	3
	Nessa Childers (Independent)	None			1
Italy	Democrats of the Left[43]	PES	12
	Democratic Party	PES		21	26
	Italian Democratic Socialists[44]	PES	2
	Democrats and Progressives	None			3
	Italian Left	None			1
	Possible	None			1
	United in the Olive Tree	None	2
Latvia	Social Democratic Party "Harmony"	PES		1	1
Lithuania	Social Democratic Party of Lithuania	PES	2	3	2
Luxembourg	Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party	PES	1	1	1
Malta	Labour Party	PES	3	4	3
Netherlands	Labour Party	PES	7	3	3
Poland	Democratic Left Alliance-Labor Union	PES	5	7	5
	Social Democratic Party of Poland	None	3
Portugal	Socialist Party	PES	12	7	8
Romania	Social Democratic Party	PES	10	11	14
Slovakia	Direction – Social Democracy	PES	3	5	4
Slovenia	Social Democrats	PES	1	2	1
Spain	Spanish Socialist Workers' Party	PES	24	21	14
Sweden	Swedish Social Democratic Party	PES	5	5	5
	Feminist Initiative	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