Party of the European Left

Party of the European Left
Other name
(in other official languages)
GermanPartei der Europäischen Linken
GreekΚόμμα Ευρωπαϊκής Αριστεράς
SpanishPartido de la Izquierda Europea
FrenchParti de la Gauche Européenne
ItalianPartito della Sinistra Europea
MalteseIl-Partit Ewropew tax-Xellug
TurkishAvrupa Sol Partisi
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 (22 December 2025)589
Ideology
Political positionLeft-wing to far-left
European Parliament groupThe Left in the European Parliament (majority)
Colours  Dark red
European Parliament
17 / 720
European Commission
0 / 27
European Council
0 / 27
European
Lower Houses
141 / 6,229
European
Upper Houses
22 / 1,458
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.