S&D-Group
The Party of European Socialists is the second largest group in the European Parliament.
The Group is chaired by the Italian socialist Gianni Pitella who took over from Austrian Hannes Swoboda in 2014. German MEP Martin Schulz chaired the group before 2012 when he was elected chair of the whole parliament and re-elected in 2014.
In July 2009 the group was renamed S-D as the abbreviation of Socialists and Democrats to allow former Italian members of the liberal group to join after their fusion into the Democratic party in Italy.
Links
Socialist group's website http://www.socialistgroup.eu