About: socialists Archives

Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, plagued by corruption scandals, lost a confidence vote in the Spanish parliament on Friday (1 June) and will be replaced by opposition leader Pedro Sánchez, a socialist who vowed to call elections soon.

To some extent the vote next May will be a test of the resilience of the forces of disruption, the main achievement of whom so far being Brexit, writes Geoffrey Harris.

Hundreds of truck drivers blocked roads across Bulgaria on Thursday (17 May) as European Union leaders met in Sofia, protesting against proposed EU rules they say would cost them their jobs and put their firms out of business.

Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov said he apologises for revealing a secret, but that the Bulgarians should know about the main additional condition for the country’s accession to the eurozone.  

The Romanian government will follow the United States and transfer its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, the ruling Social Democrat Party (PSD) leader said Thursday (19 April). "The decision has been taken (...), the procedures are beginning," Liviu Dragnea told Antena …

The vice-president of the European Commission Frans Timmermans urged Romania yesterday (1 March) not to "run in the wrong direction" over controversial judicial reforms.

In just one day, Bulgarian PM Boyko Borissov, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency, has embroiled himself in a spat with the country's president, been offered Russian citizenship and seen some of his pet projects crumble before his eyes.

Maria João Rodrigues, who is emerging as the most prominent figurehead in the European Parliament's  S&D group, made it plain on Thursday (1 February) that her political group is quite critical of its Romanian affiliate member, the ruling social-democrat PSD.

Romania's President Klaus Iohannis told the European Union on Wednesday (31 January) he would fight for the independence of his country's courts, which he and Brussels say is threatened by draft laws prepared by the Social Democrat-led government.

Romania's top court ruled yesterday (30 January) that parts of controversial legal reforms pushed by the ruling left were unconstitutional and needed to be modified.

Bulgaria’s environment minister was under fire on Wednesday (24 January) in the Environment Committee of the European Parliament over his positions on climate change and his support for a recent decision to allow construction of tourist facilities in the Pirin national park.

At the very start of Bulgaria's EU presidency, Prime Minister Boyko Borissov’s ruling coalition was unexpectedly shaken by growing opposition to the government's plan to ratify the Council of Europe convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence.

Bulgaria, the European Union's poorest member state, on 1 January took over the bloc's six-month rotating presidency. The country will undoubtedly be under pressure by Turkey and Russia to move forward their difficult relations with the 28-members block.

The Council and the European Parliament separately approved on Thursday (30 November) the deal reached on 18 November 2017 in the conciliation committee on the 2018 budget. Thus the budget is finally adopted, with the abstention of the S&D group in Parliament.

The chairman of euro zone finance ministers, Jeroen Dijsselbloem, will announce on 1 December the names of those who applied to succeed him, but there are still no clear front-runners for the election that will happen three days later.

More than ten thousand Romanians demonstrated in Bucharest on Sunday (5 November) to "defend the independence of the judiciary" in protest against a government bill that critics say will weaken anti-corruption measures.

Bulgarian PM Boyko Borissov on Saturday (4 November) blamed the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) for asking for a no-confidence vote at a time when the country is preparing to take up the rotating Presidency of the Council of the EU. 

Violence against women and girls is the root cause of discrimination and disempowerment, and this is not only about Africa, speakers insisted yesterday (26 September) at a conference on “Political Empowerment of Women in Africa and in Europe”.

The European Parliament's Socialists and Democrats (S&D Group) is exploring ways to bring progressive centre-left forces in Tunisia into the fold in order to ensure a democratic transition ahead of the country's first post-revolution municipality election.

Romania's centre-right president and state prosecutor denounced reforms to the justice system unveiled by the Partidual Social Democrat government on Wednesday (23 August) as an attack on the rule of law.

Gianni Pittella, the president of the Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament, has called for the EU to deliver help to Sierra Leone with the utmost urgency, after floods and landslides in the country’s capital Freetown took a huge toll on human lives.

After the Socialist Party's dismal showing in the first round of France's parliamentary election, an advert appeared on a property website offering the HQ of the party for sale "due to poor election results".

French President Emmanuel Macron's centrist party swept to a large majority in parliamentary elections on Sunday (18 June), although it fell short of a predicted landslide.

Romania's ruling left-wing party withdrew its support for Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu yesterday (14 June), a move likely to bring down his government, which has only been in power since January.