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The European Parliament, a 785-member body, is the only European Union (EU) institution that is directly elected by the voters of the EU’s twenty-seven member nations. The European Parliament, along with the Council of the European Union, constitutes the legislative branch of the EU. The parliament meets in Strasbourg, France (the official seat of the parliament) and in Brussels, Belgium. The secretariat of the parliament, the parliament’s administrative arm, is headquartered in Luxembourg.

Since 1979, members of the European Parliament (MEPs) have been elected for five-year terms. The legislative jurisdiction of the parliament includes environmental protection, consumer rights, equal opportunities, transportation, and the free movement of workers, capital, services, and goods. However, this jurisdiction is limited in that issues must be referred to the European Commission, the EU’s executive branch, which must draft legislation for the parliament to consider.

The European Parliament is presided over by a president, who is elected by the MEPs for a two-and-one-half-year term (one-half of the parliament’s term) and can be reelected. Election is by secret ballot, with the candidate receiving an absolute majority (393 votes) being elected. If after three ballots no candidate receives an absolute majority, a president will be elected by simple majority (those present and voting) on the fourth ballot. In addition to chairing the body’s plenary sessions, the president represents the European Parliament in its dealings with other EU institutions.

History

The European Parliament dates back to September 10, 1952, when the Common Assembly of the European Coal and Steel Community met for the first time. This was a seventy-eight member body drawn from the national parliaments of the member nations. Initially, the body had no legislative powers. With the Treaty of Rome (1958), the European Economic Community and the European Atomic Energy Community were established, and the Common Assembly was renamed the European Parliamentary Assembly and became the consultative body for all three communities. In 1962, the body took its current name, the European Parliament. In 1970, the parliament was given authority over some parts of the European Community’s budget, with power over the entire budget being granted to the body in 1975.

In 1979, the first elections were held for MEPs. The body elected Simone Veil, a French MEP, as the first female president of the European Parliament; she served until 1982.

It was not until 1992 that the seat of the parliament was firmly established. While the parliament had been headquartered in Strasbourg, in 1985 a second chamber was built in Brussels, and some of the parliament’s work was moved there, notwithstanding protests from member states. Under the agreement reached by the European Council, the European Parliament meets twelve times a year in Strasbourg, its official home, with all other parliamentary activity taking place in Brussels. This arrangement was reaffirmed in 1997 by the Treaty of Amsterdam.

The European Parliament has been more assertive in recent years. In 1999 the parliament forced Jacques Santer, the president of the European Commission, and his entire cabinet of European commissioners to resign over allegations of mismanagement and corruption. In 2004, the parliament rejected the nomination of Rocco Buttiglione, the Italian Christian Democrat, as commissioner of justice, freedom and security because of his opposition to homosexuality. This was the first time that the parliament had ever rejected a proposed commissioner.

Powers

In addition to the legislative powers already cited, the body also approves the president of the European Commission (who is proposed by the European Council) and the other members of the commission. It can also censure the commission by a two-thirds vote, which will force the commission from office.

The Maastricht Treaty of 1992 gave the parliament additional powers. It can establish committees of inquiry and can challenge other EU institutions if they violate EU law or treaties. The parliament receives an annual report from the European Central Bank and elects the European ombudsman, who deals with public complaints against all EU institutions.

Organizational Structure

The European Parliament is organized as follows:

The Conference of Presidents consists of the president of the European Parliament and the political group chairs. Two representatives who are not attached to political groups have seats in the conference but do not have voting rights. This body is responsible for the organization of the parliament’s business, which includes establishing the charges of the parliament’s committees and their membership. It is also the body responsible for relations with other EU institutions, the national parliaments, and non-EU countries.

The Conference of Delegation Chairmen oversees the operation of antiparliamentary delegations and delegations to joint parliamentary committees. It elects a chair from its membership.

The Conference of Committee Chairmen facilitates cooperation between the standing committees. It consists of the chairs of all the standing and temporary committees and elects its chair from among its members.

The Bureau is the body responsible for drafting the parliament’s preliminary budget and decides all administrative matters. It consists of the president of the European Parliament, the fourteen vice presidents, and the six questers (who are nonvoting members) selected by the parliament for a two-and-one-half-year term. The Bureau appoints the secretary-general, the parliament’s chief administrative officer.

Standing committees prepare work for the parliament’s plenary sessions. They draw up reports on legislative proposals that have been referred to the parliament as well as their own initiatives. As of June 2009, there are twenty standing committees covering such areas as foreign affairs, international trade, budgets, environment, consumer protection, regional development, legal affairs, civil liberties, women’s rights, and gender equality. The parliament has also established a temporary committee on climate change. Each committee elects a chair and four vice chairs and has a staff.

The College of Quaestors is a six-member body that is responsible for administrative and financial matters concerning the MEPs and their working conditions. They also serve as nonvoting members of the Bureau.

The Treaty Of Lisbon

The Treaty of Lisbon, signed in 2007, had a significant impact on the European Parliament. The codecision procedure, in which the parliament must approve some European Council decisions before they become EU law, was expanded to include all council proposals. The number of MEPs was reduced permanently to 750 in addition to the president of the parliament. As the treaty was not ratified in time for the June 2009 European Parliament elections, 736 MEPs, with another 18 observers, were elected; these observers will become MEPs when the Lisbon Treaty is ratified by all member states. The 754 MEPs will serve until 2014.

How Representative Is The European Parliament?

Some observers suggest that the European Parliament, notwithstanding the shift to popular elections, is not an effective legislative body. Among the weaknesses of the present structure, they contend, are that national parties run campaigns for European elections based on national agendas rather than EU issues and that the political groupings in the parliament lack a common political consciousness. They argue that elections contested by pan-European political parties campaigning on EU issues would increase voter turnout and make the European Parliament a more legitimate body. They also suggest that the European Commission and the Council of the European Union should be responsible to the European Parliament, which would then be able to operate more like a national parliament and have the power to bring a motion of no confidence against the European executive.

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