The Historical Archives of the European Union (HAEU) has completed the inventory for 1160 files produced and deposited by the Parliamentary Group of the Party of European Socialists (GPES). The inventory is available to researchers via the online database, and the documents may be consulted according to the thirty years rule.
The deposit brings together the official documents of the Group, as well as the archives of Jean-Marie Triacca, formerly a senior administrator of the (GPES) who worked intensively in the areas of social issues and trade union relations. The files pertain mainly to the period from 1994 to 1999 and consist of various types of documents, including correspondence, notes, minutes of meetings, speeches, press cuttings, reports and publications.
The papers illustrate the activities of the Group, its work and its political positions as implemented through its governing bodies (the Presidency, the Secretary General, the Bureau, the deputies) and in its parliamentary undertakings in the commissions and delegations. Of particular interest is a set of documents concerning the Group’s role in the social field, and its activities with regard to Social Dialogue.
About the Group of the Party of European Socialists
The Socialist Group in the European Parliament was formed on 23 June 1953 by the socialist parliamentarians following the 16 June 1953 decision of the Common Assembly of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) to constitute political groups.
In 1957, a liaison office was established to maintain contacts with the socialist parties of member countries. In 1973, following the first enlargement of the European Communities, the Confederation of Socialist Parties of the European Community (CSPEC) was established with the aim of strengthening cooperation among socialist parties across Europe. In 1992, CSPEC became the Party of European Socialists (PES), a reform that was made possible under the new provision on European-level political parties provided for by the Maastricht Treaty (Art 138A). As a result, the Socialist Group took up the name ‘Parliamentary Group of the Party of European Socialists’ (GPES) to emphasize its relationship with the PES.
In 2009, members of the Italian Democratic Party joined the PES to create the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D) in the European Parliament.
The Parliamentary Group of the Party of European Socialists deposits the originals of its archives with the HAEU, under the deposit contract concluded on 11 July 1989 between the Secretary General of the GPES and the HAEU. The documents included in this new inventory were transferred to the archives in August 2011.
Consult the inventory here.