News & press releases

PES observer party Ettakatol, Tunis holds Congress 5-7 of July with more than 300 delegates

Ann Linde, Head of International Unit at PES, held a speech at the Congress about the challenges of the new democracy and welcoming the new Ettakatol Women’s Organisation, which was presented at the congress. Main issues were the new constitution, political and economic development and education policy. A new party board was elected. Mustapha Ben Jafaar was re-elected as party leader.

PES condemns savage murder of Egyptian Social Democratic party official

The Party of European Socialists has today condemned the savage murder of Yorsi Al-Masri in Egypt this weekend. Mr. Al-Masri, who was the Alexandria region press officer for the Egyptian Social Democrats (a PES Observer Party), was brutal set upon by a mob armed with sticks.

PES meets with BDP leadership to discuss about Kurdish peace process

Today (29 May) PES Deputy Secretary General Yonnec Polet and PES Head of the International Unit, Ann Linde met with Selahattin Demirtaş co-chair of Barış ve Demokrasi Partisi (BDP) and Eyyup Doru, BDP’s representative to the European Union.

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.