Party of the European Left

Party of the European Left
Partei der Europäischen Linken
Parti de la Gauche Européenne
Partito della Sinistra Europea
Partido de la Izquierda Europea
Partido da Esquerda Europeia
Κόμμα Ευρωπαϊκής Αριστεράς
Avrupa Sol Partisi
Il-Partit Ewropew tax-Xellug
AbbreviationPEL
PresidentWalter Baier (AT)
Founded8–9 May 2004 (2004-05-08 2004-05-09);
21 years ago
HeadquartersSquare de Meeûs 25,
1000 Brussels, Belgium
Think tankTransform Europe
Women's wingEL-Fem
Membership (26 January 2025)447
Ideology
Political positionLeft-wing to far-left
European Parliament groupThe Left in the European Parliament (majority)
Colours  Dark red
European Parliament
16 / 720
European Commission
0 / 27
European Council
0 / 27
European
Lower Houses
116 / 6,229
European
Upper Houses
17 / 1,459
Website
european-left.org

The Party of the European Left (PEL), or European Left (EL), is a European political party that operates as an association of democratic socialist and communist political parties in the European Union and other European countries. It was formed in January 2004 for the purposes of running in the 2004 European Parliament elections. The PEL was founded on 8–9 May 2004 in Rome. The elected MEPs from member parties of the PEL sit in The Left in the European Parliament – GUE/NGL group in the European Parliament, though not all PEL members are also members of GUE/NGL. The current president is the Austrian politician Walter Baier.