European Socialists expel Slovakian PM's party for values breach

The Party of European Socialists (PES) has expelled the Slovak prime minister Robert Fico’s party.

The Socialist party's assembly took the decision unanimously on Friday and it was announced by Secretary General Giacomo Fillibeck during the Socialist Congress in Amsterdam.

"Smer has been taking over the past couple of years, political positioning that contradicts severely and deeply the values and the principles our family stands for," he said.

"The message is clear: if you belong to the PES family, you share the same values we all do."

The move has been widely expected as Smer was suspended in October 2023 after its leader Robert Fico had formed a coalition government with anti-Ukrainian and eurosceptic overtones, together with the left-wing party Hlas-SD and the far-right ultranationalist Slovak National Party (SNS).

The Slovak party was then temporarily shut out of the Socialist family and its members in the European Parliament were excluded from the Socialists and Democrats political group, ending up among the non-attached MEPs.

Since its return to power, Robert Fico has even further distanced his party from the Socialists' line on several issues, such as migration, LGBTQ rights and the war in Ukraine.

Fico has often frustrated EU efforts to sanction Russia and reduce reliance on Moscow's energy, invoking Slovakia's veto power to block new rounds of measures as EU sanctions are subject to a unanimity rule to be approved.

Fico's stance is similar to that of his Hungarian counterpart Viktor Orbán, as he questions sending military aid to Ukraine and calls for more dialogue with Moscow, even in light of the Slovakian dependence on Russian gas.

He also sparked controversy in May for a visit to Moscow to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin and commemorate the 80th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in World War II.

"I am not interested in dealing with new sanctions packages against Russia until I see, in the conclusions of the summit, political instructions for the European Commission on how to address the crisis in the automotive industry and the high energy prices that are making the European economy completely uncompetitive," Fico said after a phone call with the European Council President António Costa.

On the contrary, the Party of European Socialists is fully behind the financial and military support to Ukraine.

“We respect the decision of PES but condemn the way it was done - without any discussion with our party. The problem of the PES is that it became more liberal than the Liberals and more green than the Greens. True social democrats care about the people, social justice, better conditions of the workers, wages, and solidarity”, said SMER’s MEP Katarina Roth Nevedalova.

"To be excluded from PES because we believe in peace above war [...] that is simply a bad decision and will be proven wrong", she said.

On Friday, the PES Congress also approved the entry of three new parties: France's Place Publique (PP), Serbia's Party of Freedom and Justice (SSP), and Kosovo's Self-determination Movement (LVV), expanding the party's reach in Europe.

PP is now a full member party, while SSP and LVV are "associate members," the status which generally applies to political forces outside the EU.

The leaders of the three parties were invited to take the floor during the Congress.

"Let me express my warm acknowledgment for accepting the Self-determination within this important political family," Kosovo's Prime Minister and LVV leader Albin Kurti said.

He also recalled his party's recent success in local elections and the two pending requests of his government to the EU: the full lifting of the restrictive measures imposed in June 2023 by the European Union, in response to a "lack of cooperation" from Kosovo's authorities in de-escalating tensions with Serbia and the speeding up of the accession process.

Serbian member of the Parliament and leader of SSP Dragan Đilas thanked his new colleagues, saying that his party "is fighting to bring Serbia among the European family of Nations," praising Serbian students' protests against the government of Aleksandar Vučić and acknowledging the Socialists' support to this movement.

"The place of a democratic Serbia is in the European Union. I promise that we will not give up. Please, do not give up either," he said.