We will never cooperate nor form a coalition with the far-right: this is the unshakable promise to voters that progressive political leaders made today in Berlin, Germany.
The Party of European Socialists (PES) will always be a reliable and strong voice against right-wing extremism and for our democracy. This means no cooperation or alliances with ECR or ID in the European Parliament.
This promise was made today at a high-level PES conference in Berlin, which featured German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, PES President Stefan Löfven, PES Common Candidate Nicolas Schmit, PES Secretary General Giacomo Filibeck, SPD co-leader Lars Klingbeil, SPD Spitzenkandidat Katarina Barley, SPD Secretary General Kevin Kühnert, SAP Sweden leader Magdalena Andersson, PD Italy leader Elly Schlein and other high-level progressives.
Party leaders and secretaries general present at the conference endorsed the Berlin Democracy Declaration which has also been signed by PSOE leader Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, PSD Romania leader Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu, Labour Malta leader Prime Minister Robert Abela, S&D Group President Iratxe García Pérez, and many others.
PES Common Candidate Nicolas Schmit said:
“I am here in Berlin, supported by socialist and social democratic leaders from across Europe, to say once again: no cooperation with the far-right. I am here because it was in this city that thousands of people came out to protest for democracy. Because ordinary citizens here in Germany and across our Union reject far-right politics. We are with those citizens. They can count on us to be a reliable and strong voice against right-wing extremism.”
PES President Stefan Löfven said:
“With this declaration we send an important political message: social democrats are the main force for democracy, social progress and solidarity in Europe! Building on our clear commitment in our election manifesto, our political family adopts this ‘Democracy Declaration’ to further enhance our common call for a firewall against the far-right in Europe.”
The declaration – which can be read in full here – also says:
“We will never cooperate nor form a coalition with the far right! This also means: no cooperation or alliances with ECR or ID in the European Parliament.
At the same time, we call on all democratic European parties to firmly reject any normalisation, cooperation or alliance with the far-right. We expect them to include this formally and unequivocally in their election manifestos and party declarations as we do in our PES manifesto and in this PES leadership declaration. This is the only way to assure voters that there is a reliable and firm firewall against the far-right after the European elections.”
The rise of the far-right in Europe is a threat to citizens, their rights and their wellbeing. In government, the far-right undermines workers’ rights, press freedom and the rule of law, women’s rights and LGBTI rights. In society, they work to divide and spread conspiracy theories, draw up deportation plans, and target civil society, journalists, and trade unions. They are accomplices of the autocratic regime in Russia and imperil Europe’s security.
Social democracy is a project for citizens, bringing people together. In government, we work to offer chances for everyone, for the rule of law and fundamental rights, for civil society and freedom of the press, for women’s rights and gender equality, and we proudly stand against all forms of discrimination and hate speech. The 2024 PES election manifesto is clear that “we will never cooperate nor form coalitions with the far right”.
Further information on the conference is available on the PES website.
The Berlin Democracy Declaration is signed by:
- Stefan Löfven, PES President
- Nicolas Schmit, PES Common Candidate
- Saskia Esken, Social Democratic Party of Germany
- Lars Klingbeil, Social Democratic Party of Germany
- Pedro Sánchez, Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party
- Robert Abela, Labour Party of Malta
- Marcel Ciolacu, Social Democratic Party of Romania
- Iratxe García Pérez, President S&D Group
- Elly Schlein, Democratic Party of Italy
- Frans Timmermans, Dutch Labour Party
- Magdalena Andersson, Swedish Social Democratic Party
- Andreas Babler, Social Democratic Party of Austria
- Paul Magnette, Socialist Party Belgium
- Melissa Depraetere, Vooruit, Belgium
- Peda Grbin, Social Democratic Party of Croatia
- Marinos Sizopoulos, Movement of Socialdemocrats, Cyprus
- Michal Šmarda, Social Democracy of Czech Republic
- Lauri Läänemets, Estonian Social Democratic Party
- Kevin Kühnert, Social Democratic Party of Germany
- Nikos Androulakis, Pan-Hellenic Socialist Movement, Greece
- Antti Lindtman, Social Democratic Party of Finland
- Christophe Rouillon, President of the PES Group in the European Committee of the Regions, France
- Olivier Faure, Socialist Party of France
- Agnes Kunhalmi, Hungarian Socialist Party
- Imre Komjáthi, Hungarian Socialist Party
- Klára Dobrev, Democratic Coalition of Hungary
- Billie Sparks, Labour Party Ireland
- Ivana Bacik, Labour Party Ireland
- Nils Ušakovs. Social Democratic Party, Latvia
- Vilija Blinkevičiūtė, Lithuanian Social Democratic Party
- Dan Biancalana, Socialist Workers’ Party of Luxembourg
- Francine Closener, Socialist Workers’ Party of Luxembourg
- Ion Sula European, Social Democratic Party Moldova
- Robert Biedrón, Nowa Lewica, Poland
- Pedro Nuno Santos, Socialist Party, Portugal
- Matjaž Han, Social Democrats of Slovenia
- Cédric Wermuth, Social-Democratic Party of Switzerland
- Mattea Meyer, Social-Democratic Party of Switzerland
- Zita Gurmai, President PES Women
- Enric López Jurado, President Young European Socialists (YES)
- Caroline Gennez, PES Treasurer, Belgium
- Katarina Barley, PES Executive Vice-President, Germany
- Francisco André, PES Executive Vice-President, Portugal
- Andrzej Szejna, PES Vice-President, Poland
- Radmila Šekerinska, PES Vice-President, North Macedonia
- Kati Piri, PES Vice-President, Netherlands
- Victor Negrescu, PES Vice-President, Romania
- Tanja Fajon, PES Vice-President, Slovenia
- Giacomo Filibeck, PES Secretary General
