News & press releases

PES welcomes calls for a ceasefire in Turkey

In a statement from his prison cell, Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan, Thursday 21 March called for an immediate ceasefire with Turkey. During the 30-year fight more than 40,000 people have died. Last year saw some of the heaviest fighting in decades.

PES holds Task Force meeting at second anniversary of Arab Revolutions

On 19 February the PES held a meeting of its Task Force on the Arab Spring in the PES Headquarters in Brussels. The meeting was an opportunity for progressive parties from both sides of the Mediterranean to meet and discuss the current state of play two years after the revolutions and to develop a common agenda for the upcoming period.

Among the topics discussed were the strengthening of cooperation among progressive forces to respond effectively and in a coordinated way to the common challenges in the region as well as the question of political Islam in the Middle East and North Africa.

Egyptian Social Democratic Party (ESDP) welcomed into PES family

The Presidency of the Party of European Socialists (PES) unanimously accepted today the membership application of the Egyptian Social Democratic Party (ESDP). The decision grants membership status to the ESDP. It follows on from membership being granted to Tunisian Ettakatol and Palestinian Fatah parties in late 2012. The PES decision comes at a crucial time for progressive forces in Egypt and the Arab World: it reiterates the commitment of the PES to North Africa and the Middle East and gives renewed impetus to the calls for hope, dignity and progress.

PES calls on outgoing Prime Minister Netanyahu to acknowledge major setback of conservative policies

Held on the 22nd of January, the Israeli parliamentary elections ended in a close tie between right and left blocs with both winning 60 seats each. This result shakes the conservative status quo of the government and widens the political debate in the country.

PES welcomes the establishment in Cairo of the Arab Social Democratic Forum

The Party of European Socialists welcomes the establishment in Cairo today of the Arab Social Democratic Forum.
The forum was set up on the initiative of the Egyptian Social Democratic Party, the Tunisian Ettakatol Party and Fatah from Palestine.

PES welcomes the recognition of a Palestinian State at the United Nations

The Party of Europeans Socialists (PES) warmly welcomes the recognition of Palestine as a “non-member observer state” at the United Nations General Assembly. With 138-9 votes in favour, the endorsement of several European States was pivotal in pushing the bid through at the UN. This approval will boost the peace process, reduce current tensions and put an end to the escalation of violence.