European Parliament

The European parliament building in Brussels, Belgium

The European Parliament is the parliamentary body of the European Union.

Introduction

Although the two institutions of the EU's executive, the European Commission and the European Council, both have their seats in Brussels, a protocol attached to the Treaty of Amsterdam requires the European Parliament to have monthly sessions in Strasbourg. For practical reasons, however, all preparatory legislative work and committee meetings of the parliament take place in Brussels. The parliament only spends four days per month in Strasbourg in order to take the final, plenary votes. Additional plenary meetings are held in Brussels. On several occasions parliament has expressed a wish to choose itself the location of its seat, but in the successive treaties, including the newest Treaty of Nice, European governments keep reserving this right for themselves.

Party Groups in the European Parliament

The parties and makeup of the Parliament as of its fifth term (1999-2004):

• PPE-DE (European People's Party (Christian Democrats) and European Democrats)
  • 233 seats
• PSE (Party of European Socialists)
  • 175 seats
• ELDR (European Liberal, Democrat and Reform Party)
  • 53 seats
• GUE-NGL (European United Left / Nordic Green Left)
  • 49 seats
• Greens-EFA (European Federation of Green Parties/European Free Alliance)
  • 44 seats
• UEN (Union for a Europe of Nations)
  • 23 seats
• EDD (Europe of Democracies and Diversities)
  • 18 seats
• Some of the members of the European Parliament preferred not to belong to any political group. These independent members are referred to as NI (Non-Inscrits).
  • 30 seats

Note: the European Parliament party groups are distinct from the corresponding political parties, although they are intimately linked. Usually, the European parties also have member parties from European countries which are not members of the European Union.

See: Members of the European Parliament 1999-2004

Representation

As of 2003 (pre-accession), the member states have the following representation:

• Germany - 99 MEPs
• France, Italy, United Kingdom - 87 MEPs
• Spain - 64 MEPs
• The Netherlands - 31 MEPs
• Belgium, Greece, Portugal - 25 MEPs
• Sweden - 22 MEPs
• Austria - 21 MEPs
• Denmark, Finland - 16 MEPs
• Ireland - 15 MEPs
• Luxembourg - 6 MEPs

Elections

Elections to the parliament are held using various forms of proportional representation, as selected by the member states. These forms include regional and national lists and single transferable vote.

• European Parliament Election 1979
• European Parliament Election 1984
• European Parliament Election 1989
• European Parliament Election 1994
• European Parliament Election 1999

The next elections will be held on 10-13 June 2004. Following the enlargement of the Union on 1 May, they will be the largest simultaneous transnational elections ever held in the world, with approaching 400 million citizens eligible to vote. See: European Parliament Election 2004.

External Link

• Official web site of the European Parliament
• Detailed description of the Parliament's role, written by an EU constitutional expert

Referenced By