BRUSSELS (AP) — Europe’s main center-left political family on Friday kicked out the party of Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico, who is accused of cozying up to Russian President Vladimir Putin while undermining the rule of law in his own country.
The Party of European Socialists voted unanimously to expel Fico’s Smer party for taking political positions in recent years that contradict “severely and deeply the values and principles our family stands for,” Secretary-General Giacomo Filibeck said.
“This is a unanimous, clear message. If you belong to the PES family, you share the values that we all do,” Filibeck said after the vote at a group congress in Amsterdam.
In May, Fico was the only leader of a European Union country to travel to Moscow for festivities marking the 80th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, despite EU calls for a boycott.
Fico, who is a divisive figure at home and abroad, returned to power in 2003 after his leftist Smer, or Direction, party won a parliamentary election on a pro-Russia and anti-American platform.
Known for his pro-Russian views, he has openly challenged the bloc’s policies on Ukraine. Slovakia is currently holding up the latest package of EU sanctions against Russia.
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