European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is elected by the citizens of the European Union. Its origins go back to the 1950s and since 1979 its members have been directly elected by the people they represent.
Elections are held every five years, and every EU citizen who is registered as a voter is entitled to vote. The present parliament, elected in June 2004, has 732 members from all 25 EU countries.
Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) do not sit in national blocks, but in seven Europe-wide political groups. The Conservatives in the European Parliament are members of the European Peoples Party- European Democrats (EPP-ED), who as the largest party in the EP represent 32% of seats.
The president of the European Parliament is Hans-Gert Pottering.
Where is Parliament based?
The European Parliament has three places of work: Brussels (Belgium), Luxembourg and Strasbourg (France).
The 20 European Committees meet in Brussels. Luxembourg is home to the administrative offices (the ‘General Secretariat’). Meetings of the whole Parliament, known as ‘plenary sessions’, take place in Strasbourg.
What does Parliament do?
Parliament has three main roles:
1. Passing European laws – In many policy areas the European Parliament works in partnership with the Council to pass European Laws.
In addition, Parliament’s assent is required for certain important decisions, such as allowing new countries to join the EU.
Parliament also provides impetus for new legislation by considering what new laws would be appropriate and asking the Commission to put forward proposals.
2. Parliament exercises democratic supervision over the other EU institutions, and in particular the Commission. It has the power to approve or reject the nomination of commissioners, and it has the right to censure the Commission as a whole.
MEPs regularly ask the Commission questions which the commissioners are legally required to answer.
Parliament also monitors the work of the Council: MEPs regularly ask the Council questions, and the President of the Council attends the EP’s plenary sessions and takes part in important debates.
Parliament can exercise further democratic control by examining petitions from citizens and setting up committees of inquiry.
3. Budgetary Power. Parliament shares with the Council authority over the EU budget and can therefore influence EU spending. At the end of the procedure, it adopts or rejects the budget in its entirety.
The EU’s annual budget is decided jointly by Parliament and the Council. Parliament debates it in two successive readings, and the budget does not come into force until it has been signed by the President of Parliament.
The role of the European Parliament varies under the types of procedure:
1) Consultation – This is where the parliament can influence legislation but does not have the final say.
2) Co-operation and assent procedure whereby the Parliament has greater powers than within consultation.
3) Co-decision – Initiated by the Maastricht Treaty and developed within the Treaty of Amsterdam this procedure requires the consensus between both the Parliament and the Council. This procedure places the European Parliament and the Council on an equal footing and it applies to legislation in a wide range of fields, except in agriculture, economic policy and immigration.
To read more about the European Parliaments powers and procedures click here.
How is the Parliament’s work organised?
Parliament’s work is divided into two main stages:
* Preparing for the plenary session. This is done by the MEPs in the various parliamentary committees that specialise in particular areas of EU activity. The issues for debate are also discussed by the political groups.
* The plenary session itself. Plenary sessions are normally held in Strasbourg (one week per month) and sometimes in Brussels (two days only). At these sessions, Parliament examines proposed legislation and votes on amendments before coming to a decision on the text as a whole.
Other items on the agenda may include Council or Commission ‘communications’ or questions about what is going on in the European Union or the wider world.
You can read more about this at Organisation of The Parliament.
