Europe’s alliance of socialist parties will permanently expel Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico’s party, Smer, at a congress next month, four people with direct knowledge of the decision told Euractiv’s flagship newsletter Rapporteur.
The President of the Party of European Socialists (PES), Stefan Löfven, a former Swedish prime minister, will submit the expulsion for ratification when delegates gather in Amsterdam from 16 October. PES brings together national-level socialist and social democratic parties from all European Economic Area countries, plus the UK.
The move comes after progressives ran out of patience with Fico, who has cosied up to Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping, and stands accused of riding roughshod over the rule of law at home. In October 2023, Smer was suspended after forming a government with the nationalist SNS party.
The expulsion will leave Fico more isolated at the European level, with no route back into the mainstream where he once happily resided. In Brussels and Strasbourg, his lawmakers already operate on the margins of the Parliament, and he has frustrated EU efforts to sanction Russia and reduce reliance on Moscow’s energy.
This story will be updated.
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