Europe's main center-left political family expelled the party of Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico from its ranks on Monday, after he was accused of getting close to Russian President Vladimir Putin and undermining the rule of law in his own country, the Associated Press reported.
The Party of European Socialists (PES) voted unanimously to expel the "Smer" (Direction) party for taking political positions in recent years that contradict "sharply and deeply the values and principles that our (political) family stands for," said PES Secretary General Giacomo Filibek. "This is a unanimous, clear message. "If you belong to the PES family, you share the values that we all support," he added after the vote at the party's congress in Amsterdam.
In May, Fico was the only leader of a European Union country to travel to Moscow for celebrations marking the 80th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in World War II despite EU calls for a boycott, AP recalls.
Fico, a controversial figure both at home and abroad, returned to power in 2003 after his left-wing Smer party won parliamentary elections on a pro-Russian and anti-American platform.
Known for his pro-Russian political views, he has openly opposed EU policies towards Ukraine. Slovakia is currently delaying the bloc's latest package of sanctions against Russia, AP notes.