Richard Ashworth

About The European Parliament

1. An Overview Of The Parliament
2. The Work Of The European Parliament
3. EU Legislation
4. History of the European Parliament

An Overview of the Parliament

In simple terms, the European Parliament is where MEPs debate and vote on European Legislation, just like MPs in the House of Commons debate and vote on national legislation.

The Parliament is the democratic arm of the EU, with each country holding an election for citizens to choose who they wish to represent them. The last European elections were held in June 2004 and the number of MEPs elected in total was 731. There are 78 UK members and the Conservatives are the largest delegation with 28 MEPs.

To see a break down of MEPs by country and political party click here

The parliament's role is to legislate in areas that are not the sole concern of national governments. For example, how we organise our education system and regulate our system of tax is clearly a matter for national parliaments. MEPs look at proposals by the European Commission in areas such as the environment, consumer protection, safety standards and function of the single market. Not all MEPs agree with some of the areas the parliament can legislate in and it is their job to fight against proposals they feel are bad for their country. MEPs can do this by amending proposals and acting as an early warning system for their national parliament. This link between the European and national parliaments is important because decisions on legislation are usually adopted jointly by the European Parliament and the Council. The Council is composed of ministers from national governments.

So to re-cap...MEPs sit in the European Parliament (EP) and are democratically elected by the 25 Member States that make up the EU. The European Commission has the power of initiation and is headed by a college of 25 Commissioners, one from each member state, each responsible for different policy areas and each chosen by their national government. The Commission produces proposals and working documents for debate by the Parliament and Council. The Council is composed of ministers from national governments. The parliament's final agreement is needed for legislation to be adopted, except in some areas where the Council has final say such as agricultural policy.