The Netherlands’ largest opposition party, Progressive Netherlands (PRO), has voted to join the Party of European Socialists (PES) instead of the European Green Party, according to internal election results announced Friday.
About 65 percent of votes cast by PRO members backed PES membership. PRO was formed earlier this year through the merger of the Dutch GreenLeft (GroenLinks) and Labour (PvdA) parties.
Before the vote, an advisory committee recommended that the party join PES. It argued that membership would give PRO greater influence at the European level.
The vote chose between two European political groupings: the Party of European Socialists and the European Green Party. The announcement did not include turnout figures or a full breakdown of the vote.