BRUSSELS — Europe’s main center-left political group on Friday kicked out the party of Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico, who is accused of cozying up to Russian President Vladimir Putin and 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. The group did not list its precise reasons for ejecting Smer.

Fico said he was disappointed by the decision.

“If they want to puni

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