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 European Parliament | |||||
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| Established | 1952, as the Common Assembly | ||||
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| President | Hans-Gert Pöttering (EPP) Since 16 January 2007 | ||||
| Vice-Presidents |
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| Political groups |
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| Committees |
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| Last election | June 2004 (785 MEPs) | ||||
| Meeting place | Strasbourg and Brussels | ||||
| Secretariat | Luxembourg and Brussels | ||||
| Website | europarl.europa.eu | ||||
The European Parliament (Europarl or EP) is the only directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union (EU). Together with the Council of the European Union (the Council), it forms the bicameral legislative branch of the Union\'s institutions and has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world. The Parliament and Council form the highest legislative body within the Union. However their powers as such are limited to the competencies conferred upon the European Community by member states. Hence the institution has little control over policy areas held by the states and within the other two of the three pillars of the European Union. The Parliament is composed of 785 MEPs (Member of the European Parliament), who serve the second largest democratic electorate in the world (after India) and the largest trans-national democratic electorate in the world (342 million eligible voters in 2004).Europe-topics in Europe’s media - The debate about the European public sphere: a meta-analysis of media content analyses. University of Mannheim. Retrieved on 2008-02-26.European Union elections: Voting Systems - IVU. IVU Traffic Technologies AG. Retrieved on 2008-02-26.European federalists launch appeal to the European citizens: go vote and take part in the shaping of the future of Europe. Union of European Federalists. Retrieved on 2008-02-26.
It has been directly elected every five years by universal suffrage since 1979. Although the European Parliament has legislative power that such bodies as those above do not possess, it does not have legislative initiative like most national parliaments. While it is the "first institution" of the European Union (mentioned first in the treaties, having ceremonial precedence over all authority at European level), the Council has greater powers over legislation than the Parliament where codecision procedure (equal rights of amendment and rejection) does not apply. It has, however, had control over the EU budget since the 1970s and has a veto over the appointment of the European Commission.Parliament\'s powers and procedures. European Parliament. Retrieved on 2007-06-12.
The European Parliament has two meeting places, namely the Immeuble Louise Weiss in Strasbourg, France, which serves for plenary sessions and is the official seat and the Espace Léopold complex in Brussels, Belgium, the smaller of the two, which serves for preparatory meetings and complementary, non-plenary sessions. The cost of having all MEPs and their staff moving several times a year from one place to another has been of concern to some. The Secretariat of the European Parliament, the Parliament\'s administrative body, is based in Luxembourg.Consolidated versions of the treaty on European Union and of the treaty establishing the European Community (PDF). Eur-lex. Retrieved on 2007-06-12.Wallström, Margot (2006-05-24). My blog: Denmark, Latvia, Strasbourg. European Commission. Retrieved on 2007-06-12.
The President of the European Parliament (its speaker) is currently Hans-Gert Pöttering (EPP), elected in January 2007. He presides over a multi-party chamber, the two largest groups being the European People\'s Party-European Democrats (EPP-ED) and the Party of European Socialists (PES). The last Union-wide elections were the 2004 Parliamentary Elections, however Romania and Bulgaria joined in 2007 and are electing their members this year (see European Parliament election, 2007); the next union-wide parliamentary elections are in 2009 (see European Parliament election, 2009).
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The Parliament, like the other institutions, was not designed in its current form when it first met on 1952-09-10. One of the oldest common institutions, it began as the "Common Assembly" of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC). It was a consultative assembly of 78 parliamentarians drawn from the national parliaments of member states (see dual mandate), having no legislative powers.European Parliament. European NAvigator. Retrieved on 2007-06-12.EPP-ED Chronology—1951–1960. European People\'s Party. Retrieved on 2007-07-05. This change since its foundation was highlighted by Professor David Farrell of the University of Manchester;Professor Farrell: "The EP is now one of the most powerful legislatures in the world". European Parliament (2007-06-18). Retrieved on 2007-07-05.
| “ | For much of its life, the European Parliament could have been justly labelled a \'multi-lingual talking shop\'. But this is no longer the case: the EP is now one of the most powerful legislatures in the world both in terms of its legislative and executive oversight powers. | ” |
Its development since its foundation is testament to the evolution of the Union\'s structures without one clear "master plan". Some such as Tom Reid of the Washington Post said of the Union, "nobody would have deliberately designed a government as complex and as redundant as the EU".Reid, Tom (2004). The United States of Europe. London: Penguin Books, 272. ISBN 0-141-02317-1. Even the Parliament\'s two seats, which have switched several times, is a result of various agreements or lack of agreements.
The body was not mentioned in the original Schuman Declaration, it was instead proposed by Jean Monnet on the second day of negotiations as an institution which would counterbalance and monitor the executive while providing democratic legitimacy. The wording of the ECSC Treaty demonstrated the leaders desire for more than a normal consultative assembly by using the term "representatives of the people" and allowed for direct election. Its early importance was highlighted when the Assembly was given the task of drawing up the draft treaty to establish a European Political Community. In this the "Ad Hoc" Assembly was established with extra members but after the failure of the proposed European Defence Community their project was dropped.Composition of the European Parliament. European NAvigator. Retrieved on 2007-06-12.
Despite this the European Economic Community and Euratom were established in 1958 by the Treaties of Rome. The Common Assembly was shared by all three communities (which had separate executives) and it renamed itself the "European Parliamentary Assembly". The three communities merged in 1967 and the body was renamed to the current "European Parliament" in 1962. In 1970 the Parliament was granted power over areas the Community\'s budget, which were expanded to the whole budget in 1975.Power of the purse of the European Parliament. European NAvigator. Retrieved on 2007-10-11.
Under the Rome Treaties, the Parliament should have become elected. However the Council was required to agree a uniform voting system before hand, which it failed to do. The Parliament threatened to take the Council to the European Court of Justice leading to a compromise whereby the Council would agree to elections, but the issue of voting systems would be put off till a later date.Hoskyns, Catherine; Michael Newman (2000). Democratizing the European Union: Issues for the twenty-first Century (Perspectives on Democratization. Manchester University Press. ISBN 978-0719056666.
In 1979, its members were directly elected for the first time. This set it apart from similar institutions such as those of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe or Pan-African Parliament which are appointed.Framework. Council of Europe. Retrieved on 2007-07-05.Overview of the Pan-African Parliament. Pan-African Parliament. Retrieved on 2007-07-05. After that first election, the parliament held its first session on 11 July 1979, electing Simone Veil MEP as its President. Veil was also the first female President of the Parliament since it was formed as the Common Assembly.The history of the European Parliament. European Parliament. Retrieved on 2007-07-05.
Former emblem used by the Parliament in this era
The Parliament quickly made use of its legitimacy. For example in 1984, inspired by its previous work on the Political Community, it drafted the "draft Treaty establishing the European Union" (also known as the \'Spinelli Plan\' after its rapporteur Altiero Spinelli MEP). Although it was not adopted, many ideas were later implemented by other treaties.The European Parliament\'s proposals. European NAvigator. Retrieved on 2007-10-11. Further more the Parliament began holding votes on proposed Commission Presidents from the 1980s, before it was given any formal right to veto.European Parliament Website. Oversight over the Commission and Council. Retrieved on 2007-07-01. Since the election the membership of the European Parliament has simply expanded whenever new nations have joined (the membership was also adjusted upwards in 1994 after German reunification). Following this the Treaty of Nice imposed a cap on the number of members to be elected, 732.
Like the other institutions, the Parliament\'s seat was not yet fixed. The provisional arrangements placed Parliament in Strasbourg, while the Commission and Council had their seats in Brussels. In 1985 the Parliament, wishing to be closer to these institutions, built a second chamber in Brussels and moved some of its work there despite protests from some states. A final agreement was eventually reached by the European Council in 1992. It stated the Parliament would remain in Strasbourg but must also hold part sessions in Brussels. This two seat arrangement was contested by Parliament but was later enshrined in the Treaty of Amsterdam. To this day the institution\'s locations are a source of contention.The seats of the institutions of the European Union. European NAvigator. Retrieved on 2007-07-18.
The Parliament had been gaining more powers from successive treaties, namely through the extension of codecision procedure,Power to legislate of the European Parliament. European NAvigator. Retrieved on 2007-10-11. and in 1999, the Parliament forced the resignation of the Santer Commission.Topan, Angelina (2002-09-30). The resignation of the Santer-Commission: the impact of \'trust\' and \'reputation\' (PDF). European Integration Online Papers. Retrieved on 2007-06-12. The Parliament had refused to approve the Community budget over allegations of fraud and mis-management in the Commission. The two main parties took on a government-opposition dynamic for the first time during the crisis which ended in the Commission resigning en masse, the first of any forced resignation, in the face of an impending censure from the Parliament.
In 2004, following the largest trans-national election in history, despite the European Council choosing a President from the largest political group (the EPP), the Parliament again exerted pressure on the Commission. During the Parliament\'s hearings of the proposed Commissioners MEPs raised doubts about some nominees with the Civil liberties committee rejecting Rocco Buttiglione from the post of Commissioner for Justice, Freedom and Security over his views on homosexuality. That was the first time the Parliament had ever voted against an incoming Commissioner and despite Barroso\'s insistence upon Buttiglione the Parliament forced Buttiglione to be withdrawn. A number of other Commissioners also had to be withdrawn or reassigned before Parliament allowed the Barroso Commission to take office.Tobais, Troll (2004-11-02). “We have to democratise procedures”. Café Babel. Retrieved on 2007-06-12.
In addition to the extension of codecision, the Parliament\'s democratic mandate has given it greater control over legislation against the other institutions. In voting on the Bolkestein directive in 2006, the Parliament voted by a large majority for over 400 amendments that changed the fundamental principle of the law. The Financial Times described it in the following terms:How the European parliament got serious. Financial Times (2006-02-23). Retrieved on 2007-06-12.
| “ | The European parliament has suddenly come into its own. It marks another shift in power between the three central EU institutions. Last week\'s vote suggests that the directly elected MEPs, in spite of their multitude of ideological, national and historical allegiances, have started to coalesce as a serious and effective EU institution, just as enlargement has greatly complicated negotiations inside both the Council and Commission. | ” |
In 2007, for the first time, Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini included Parliament in talks on the second Schengen Information System even though MEPs only needed to be consulted on parts of the package. After that experiment, Frattini indicated he would like to include Parliament in all justice and criminal matters, informally pre-empting the new powers they would gain in 2009 under the Treaty of Lisbon.Beunderman, Mark (2007-11-09). Frattini seeks to apply new EU treaty rules before 2009. EU Observer. Retrieved on 2007-11-09.
The Parliament and Council are essentially two chambers in the bicameral legislative branch of the European Union, with legislative power being officially distributed equally between both chambers. However there are some differences from national legislatures; for example, neither the Parliament nor Council have the power of legislative initiative. In Community matters, this is a power uniquely reserved for the European Commission (the executive). Meaning that while Parliament can amend and reject legislation, and make a proposal for legislation, it needs the Commission to draft a bill before anything can become law.Fact Sheets 1.3.8 The Commission. European Parliament. Retrieved on 2007-06-14.
The Parliament also has a great deal of indirect influence, through non-binding resolutions and committee hearings, as a "pan-European soapbox" with the ear of thousands of Brussels-based journalists. There is also an indirect effect on foreign policy; the Parliament must approve all development grants, including those overseas. For example, the support for post-war Iraq reconstruction, or incentives for the cessation of Iranian nuclear development, must be supported by the Parliament. Parliamentary support was also required for the transatlantic passenger data-sharing deal with the United States.Schnabel, Rockwell; Francis Rocca (2005). The Next Superpower?: the Rise of Europe and its Challenge to the United States. Oxford: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 111. ISBN 978-0742545489.
The Parliament\'s hemicycle (debating chamber) in Strasbourg
With each new treaty, the powers of the Parliament have expanded. Its powers have been primarily defined through the Union\'s legislative procedures. The method which has slowly become the dominant procedure (about three-quarters of policy areas) is the Codecision procedure, where powers are essentially equal between Parliament and Council. Codecision provides an equal footing between the two bodies. Under the procedure, the Commission presents a proposal to Parliament and the Council. They then send amendments to the Council which can either adopt the text with those amendments or send back a "common position". That proposal may either be approved or further amendments may be tabled by the Parliament. If the Council does not approve these, then a "Conciliation Committee" is formed. The Committee is composed of the Council members plus an equal number of MEPs who seek to agree a common position. Once a position is agreed, it has to be approved by Parliament, again by an absolute majority.Decision-making in the European Union. Europa (web portal). Retrieved on 2007-09-18.Parliament\'s powers and procedures. European Parliament. Retrieved on 2007-06-12. In addition to codecision, the Parliament\'s mandate as the only directly democratic institution has given it leeway to have greater control over legislation than other institutions, for example over its changes to the Bolkestein directive in 2006.
Other procedures include: Cooperation, meaning the Council can overrule the Parliament if it is unanimous; Consultation, which require just consultation of the Parliament; and Assent procedure, where the Parliament has a veto. The Commission and Council, or just Commission, can also act completely independently of the Parliament, but the use of these procedures are very limited. The procedure also depends upon which type of institutional act is being used. The strongest act is a regulation, an act or law which is directly applicable in its entirety. Then there are directives which bind members to certain goals which they must achieve. They do this through their own laws and hence have room to manoeuvre in deciding upon them. A decision is an instrument which is focused at a particular person/group and is directly applicable. Institutions may also issue recommendations and opinions which are merely non-binding, declarations.Community legal instruments. Europa (web portal). Retrieved on 2007-09-18. There is a further document which does not follow normal procedures, this is a "written declaration" which is similar to an early day motion used in the Westminster system. It is a document proposed by up to five MEPs on a matter within the EU\'s activities used to launch a debate on that subject. Having been posted outside the entrance to the hemicycle, members can sign the declaration and if a majority do so it is forwarded to the President and announced to the plenary before being forwarded to the other institutions and formally noted in the minutes.Written declarations. European Parliament. Retrieved on 2007-11-01.
The legislative branch officially holds the Union\'s budgetary authority, powers gained through the Budgetary Treaties of the 1970s. The EU\'s budget is divided into compulsory and non-compulsory spending. Compulsory spending is that resulting from EU treaties (including agriculture) and international agreements; the rest is non-compulsory. While the Council has the last word on compulsory spending, the Parliament has the last word on non-compulsory spending.Budgetary power. European Parliament. Retrieved on 2007-06-12.How is the budget decided?. European Parliament. Retrieved on 2007-06-12.
The institutions draw up budget estimates and the Commission consolidates them into a draft budget. Both the Council and the Parliament can amend the budget with the Parliament adopting or rejecting the budget at its second reading. The signature of the Parliament\'s president is required before the budget becomes law.
The Parliament is also responsible for discharging the implementation of previous budgets, on the basis of the annual report of the European Court of Auditors. It has refused to approve the budget only twice, in 1984 and in 1998. On the latter occasion it led to the resignation of the Santer Commission.Budgetary control: 1996 discharge raises issue of confidence in the Commission. Europa (web portal) (1999). Retrieved on 2007-10-15.
The President of the European Commission is proposed by the Council (in practice by the European Council) and that proposal has to be approved by the Parliament (by a simple majority), essentially giving the Parliament a veto, but not a right to propose, the head of the executive. Following the approval of the Commission President, the members of the Commission are proposed by the President in accord with the member-states. Each Commissioner comes before a relevant parliamentary committee hearing covering the proposed portfolio. They are then, as a body, approved or rejected by the Parliament.Oversight over the Commission and Council. European Parliament. Retrieved on 2007-06-12.Background Information: Election of the European Commission. European Parliament. Retrieved on 2007-07-01. In practice, the Parliament has never voted against a President or his Commission, but it did seem likely when the Barroso Commission was put forward. The resulting pressure forced the proposal to be withdrawn and changed to be more acceptable to parliament.Bowley, Graham (2004-10-18). Buttiglione affair highlights evolving role of Parliament : Questions arise on democracy at the EU. International Herald Tribune. Retrieved on 2007-07-01. That pressure was seen as an important sign by some of the evolving nature of the Parliament and its ability to make the Commission accountable, rather than being a rubber stamp for candidates. Furthermore, in voting on the Commission, MEPs also voted along party lines, rather than national lines, despite frequent pressure from national governments on their MEPs. This cohesion and willingness to use the Parliament\'s power ensured greater attention from national leaders, other institutions and the public—who previously gave the lowest ever turnout for the Parliament\'s elections.Murray, Alasdair (2004). Three cheers for EU democracy. Centre for European Reform. Retrieved on 2007-07-07.
The Parliament also has the power to censure the Commission if they have a two-thirds majority which will force the resignation of the entire Commission from office. As with approval, this power has never been used but it was threatened to the Santer Commission, who subsequently resigned of their own accord. There are a few other controls, such as: the requirement of Commission to submit reports to the Parliament and answer questions from MEPs; the requirement of the President-in-office of the European Council to present their programme at the start of their presidency; the right of MEPs to make proposals for legislation and policy to the Commission and Council; and the right to question members of those institutions (e.g. "Commission Question Time" every Tuesday).
The Parliament also has other powers of general supervision, mainly granted by the Maastricht Treaty.Maastricht Treaty 15 years on: birth of the "European Union". European Parliament (2007-02-07). Retrieved on 2007-07-06. The Parliament has the power to set up a Committee of Inquiry, for example over mad cow disease or CIA detention flights—the former led to the creation of the European veterinary agency. The Parliament can call other institutions to answer questions and if necessary to take them to court if they break EU law or treaties.Supervisory power. European Parliament. Retrieved on 2007-06-12. Further more it has powers over the appointment of the members of the Court of AuditorsRules of Procedure of the European Parliament. Rule 101: Appointment of the Members of the Court of Auditors. European Parliament. Retrieved on 2007-07-07. and the president and executive board of the European Central Bank. The ECB president is also obliged to present an annual report to the parliament.
The European Ombudsman is elected by the Parliament, who deals with public complaints against all institutions. Petitions can also be brought forward by any EU citizen on a matter within the EU\'s sphere of activities. The Committee on Petitions hears cases, some 1500 each year, sometimes presented by the citizen themselves at the Parliament. While the Parliament attempts to resolve the issue as a mediator they do resort to legal proceedings if it is necessary to resolve the citizens dispute.Rickards, Mark (2007-11-03). MEPs get taste of people power. BBC News. Retrieved on 2007-11-03.
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The parliamentarians are known in English as Members of the European Parliament (MEPs). They are elected every 5 years by universal adult suffrage and sit according to political allegiance, about a third are women. Prior to 1979 they were appointed by their national parliaments.Composition of the European Parliament. European NAvigator. Retrieved on 2007-06-12.Members. European Parliament. Retrieved on 2007-10-27.
As states are allocated seats according to population, the total number of MEPs should be 732; however, since 1 January 2007 there are 785 MEPs. This is due to the accession of Romania and Bulgaria, as the allocation of seats does not take into account members that join mid-term. Under the existing rules the number of members would be reduced again to 732 following the 2009 electionParliament all set for enlargement. Europa (web portal). Retrieved on 2007-06-14. however the rules are due to be changed under the Treaty of Lisbon. Instead, there would be 751 members, however the President would no longer be counted as a voting member once in office so in practice there would be 750 members.Goldirova, Renata (2007-10-19). EU agrees new \'Treaty of Lisbon\'. EU Observer. Retrieved on 2007-11-19. In addition, the maximum number of seats allocated to a state would be lowered to ninety-six, from the current ninety-nine, and the minimum number of seats would be raised to six, from the current five. These seats are distributed according to "degressive proportionality", meaning that the larger the state, the more citizens that are represented per MEP. It is intended that the new system, including revising the seating well in advance of elections, can avoid political horse trading when the numbers have to be revised.Distribution of EP seats: Constitutional Affairs Committee approvals proposal. Europa (web portal) (2007-10-02). Retrieved on 2007-10-07.
At present, members receive the same salary as members of their national parliament. However as of 2009 a new members statute will come into force which gives all members an equal pay of 7000 euro each, subject to a community tax and can also be taxed nationally. MEPs would retire at 63 and receive the whole of their pension from the Parliament. Travelling expenses would also be given based on actual cost rather than a flat rate as is the case now.Statue for Members of the European Parliament. Europa (web portal). Retrieved on 2007-10-27. In addition to their pay, members are granted a number of privileges and immunities. To ensure their free movement to and from the Parliament they are accorded by their own states, the facilities accorded to senior officials travelling abroad and by other state governments the facilities of visiting foreign representatives. When in their own state they have all the immunities accorded to national parliamentarians, and in other states they have immunity from detention and legal proceedings. However immunity cannot be claimed when a member is found committing a criminal offence and the Parliament also has the right to strip a member of their immunity.7. Protocol on the privileges and immunities of the European Union (PDF). Eur-Lex (2004-12-16). Retrieved on 2007-10-27.
| Group | Leader(s) | MEPs | ||
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| EPP-ED | Joseph Daul | 284 | 
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| PES | Martin Schulz | 215 | ||
| ALDE | Graham Watson | 103 | ||
| UEN | Brian Crowley Cristiana Muscardini | 44 | ||
| G-EFA | Monica Frassoni Daniel Cohn-Bendit | 42 | ||
| GUE-NGL | Francis Wurtz | 41 | ||
| ID | Nigel Farage Jens-Peter Bonde | 24 | ||
| Non-Inscrits | MEPs without group | 32 | Source: European Parliament | |
MEPs in Parliament are organised into seven different parliamentary groups, including over thirty non-attached members known as non-inscrits. The two largest groups are the European People\'s Party-European Democrats (EPP-ED) and the Party of European Socialists (PES). These two groups have dominated the Parliament for much of its life, continuously holding between 50 and 70 percent of the seats together. No single group has ever held a majority in Parliament.Kreppel, Amie (2002). The European Parliament and Supranational Party System (PDF). Cambridge University Press. Retrieved on 2007-06-12.
Groups are often based around a single European political party such as the socialist group. However they can, like the liberal group, include more than one European party as well as national parties and independents.Party Politics in the EU (PDF). civitas.org.uk. Retrieved on 2007-06-12. For a group to be recognised, it needs 20 MEPs from six different countries. Once recognised groups receive financial subsidies from the parliament and guaranteed seats on Committees, creating an incentive for the formation of groups. However some controversy occurred with the establishment of the Identity, Tradition, Sovereignty (ITS) due to its ideology; the members of the group are far-right, so there were concerns about public funds going towards such a group.Brunwasser, Matthew (2007-01-14). Bulgaria and Romania bolster far right profile in EU Parliament. International Herald Tribune. Retrieved on 2007-07-07. There were attempts to change the rules to block the formation of ITS, however that never came to fruition. They were, however, blocked from gaining leading positions on committees—a right that is meant to be afforded to all parties.Far-Right Wing Group Sidelined in European Parliament. Deutsche Welle (2007-02-02). Retrieved on 2007-07-07. When this group engaged in infighting, causing the withdrawal of some members, its size fell below the recognisable limit causing its collapse.Mahony, Honor (
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