European Forum

SI Council in Athens takes decisions on memberships

At the last SI Council on 1-2 July in Athens several decisions were taken regarding memberships.

-    Suspended: Union of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD). The extreme nationalistic tendency that this party has is a reason to nominate this party for expulsion. In September a final decision will be taken regarding the party’s membership.
-    Removed: Socialist Party of Ukraine (SPU). The party practically does not exist anymore, has not paid any contribution in years and never shows up at meetings and activities. 

Some parties have been upgraded:

-    Palestine National Liberation Movement, Fatah
In June 2011 Fatah has send in a request to be upgraded from consultative member to full member. The Council has unanimously accepted this request.

The following requests have been rejected:

-    Palestine National Initiative, PNI
In June 2011 PNI has also requested to be upgraded from consultative member to full member. This requested has been rejected by the Ethics Committee. PNI is a relatively small party with little influence. When PNI became member it was agreed to first hold a consultation round among member parties in the region, in particular Fatah. The request for full membership came in one day prior to the Athens Council and there had not been yet any time to hold a consultation round.  For the moment PNI will not be upgraded to full membership

-    Social Democrats for Development of Georgia, SDD
In June 2011 SDD has submitted a request for SI membership. At the moment this party is not a member of the SI. The Ethics Committee considers that at this moment the party’s request has to be rejected. The party now exists for one year and because it is such a young party it needs time to develop. The party, however, has participated in the last CIS meeting in May. Yet, the party has never participated in elections. It is highly recommended to first see how this party will develop before opening the discussion on its request.

Visit the SI website for the entire report.