The European Parliament. Written by Jimena and Souraya, TY students
The European Parliament is made up of 705 Members elected in the 27 Member States of the enlarged European Union. Since 1979 MEPs have been elected by direct universal suffrage for a five-year period.
The European Parliament is an important forum for political debate and decision-making at the EU level. The Members of the European Parliament are directly elected by voters in all Member States to represent people’s interests with regard to EU law-making and to make sure other EU institutions are working democratically.
MEPs divide their time between their constituencies, Strasbourg - where 12 plenary sittings a year are held - and Brussels, where they attend additional plenary sittings, as well as committee and political group meetings.
The European Union is a unique economic and political union between 27 EU countries that together cover much of the continent.
Its headquarters are in Strasbourg, France, where the plenary sessions are held. Its committees, as well as additional sessions, are held at Espace Léopold, in Brussels, Belgium. Its general secretariat is located in Luxembourg.
The EU remains focused on making its governing institutions more transparent and democratic. Decisions are taken as openly as possible and as closely as possible to the citizen.
More powers have been given to the directly elected European Parliament, while national parliaments play a greater role, working alongside the European institutions
A unique institutional set-up
In the EU's unique institutional setup, the EU's broad priorities are set by the European Council, which brings together national and EU-level leaders directly elected MEPs represent European citizens in the European Parliament. The interests of the EU as a whole are promoted by the European Commission, whose members are appointed by national governments to defend their own country's national interests in the Council of the European Union.
Two other institutions play vital roles:
- The Court of Justice of the EU upholds the rule of European law
- The Court of Auditors checks the financing of the EU's activities.