Europe is founded on democracy, freedom, fair economic cooperation and social cohesion.

It is a historic progress project, which has guaranteed peace and prosperity over the decades and which allows us to build our future together, as Europeans. Europe is the most advanced model of transnational democracy in the world, with a strong parliament at its core: the European Parliament. The rise of the far right is a threat to the European Union and to its citizens, to their rights and to their well-being. It is a poison for democracy. Where the far right governs, all rights are at risk: they limit workers' rights, strike at press freedom and the rule of law, attack women's rights and try to erase LGBTI rights. They implement authoritarian and autocratic measures to undermine freedom and democracy. On security, they have no credibility: they are complicit in the Russian autocratic regime and its attack on European security within the framework of the EU and NATO. The ideology, programs, and policies of the far right are all we are fighting. Their values have marked the darkest pages of our history and are irreconcilable with ours. On the contrary, the PES exists to unite people, not to pit them against each other. We fight inequality, division, intolerance. We are proud to fight to offer a dignified life to all, to defend the rule of law and fundamental rights, civil society and freedom of the press, women's rights and gender equality. We strongly oppose all forms of discrimination and hate speech. Our proposals are inclusive, progressive and aim to provide a better life for all citizens by addressing the problems related to economic inequality; Trying to give opportunities to everyone, investing in innovation and greater civic engagement at local and regional level. In recent weeks, millions of citizens have taken to the streets to protest against the far right in Europe. As Socialists and Democrats we stand with them: we will fight to protect democracy, fundamental rights and the most vulnerable people. We will always be in solidarity! As the PSE, we condemn without appeal the conservative and liberal parties that have allowed far-right parties to come to power, either through coalitions or parliamentary agreements. Without their complicity, this would not have happened. And it must never happen again! For our political family, there is no ambiguity: We always condemn and combat racism, xenophobia and discrimination at all levels. We protect social cohesion, justice and solidarity, defending the most vulnerable groups that risk becoming targets of hatred, division and intolerance; We protect the independence of the media and vigorously fight disinformation, so that European citizens have the freedom to inform themselves independently and to form their own opinions; We support the timely and full implementation of the rule of law conditionality mechanism to ensure that EU funds do not go to autocratic governments; We support the reform of the Article 7 procedure, to ensure that the Commission and the Member States can act more quickly in the event of serious breaches of democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights in all EU states; We always defend international law, the rules-based international order, and strongly oppose Russian aggression. On the basis of these principles, as the Party of European Socialists, we want to make an unshakeable promise to all Europeans: We will never cooperate, nor will we ever form a coalition with the far right! This means no cooperation or alliance with ECR or ID in the European Parliament. In the same way, we call on all European democratic parties to firmly reject any normalisation, cooperation or alliance with the far right, and we expect this commitment to be formally and unequivocally included in their respective manifestos and election programmes, as we have done in the PES manifesto and in this PES Leadership Declaration. Only in this way can we assure voters that there will be a strong barrier against the far right even after the European elections. As socialists and social democrats, we strive for an inclusive, free and equal society where everyone is treated with dignity and respect. These values are the basis of the European project and the principles we will defend