DEN BOSCH (ANP) – GroenLinks and the PvdA have officially merged into the new party Progressief Nederland. A large majority of the members present voted in favour of the merger during a party congress in Den Bosch. According to the party, 6,000 people were present. 96 percent of GroenLinks members voted in favour, while 97 percent of PvdA members did so.
The party’s abbreviation will be PRO, as it is also known in the House of Representatives. The new name was unveiled in March 2026.
It is not yet known to which European group PRO will belong. GroenLinks is with the Greens and the PvdA with the Social Democrats (S&D).
Criticism of cooperation
There was criticism of the cooperation within both parties. Among others, former PvdA chairman Hans Spekman had previously feared that PRO would become a party for the highly educated. The FNV chairman opened the congress and said that he is becoming a member of PRO. After the House of Representatives elections in 2021, a merger between the two parties began to gain increasing traction. Nationally, they ran as a single list for the first time in the 2023 elections, then still under the name GroenLinks-PvdA. The parties also ran as a single list under that name in the 2025 elections and the recent municipal elections, although there were also municipalities where the parties were still listed separately.
At previous congresses and votes regarding the parties’ merger, there was consistently a large majority in favour of further cooperation and a merger.
