European Parliament

{{{number}}} European Parliament
{{{start}}} –
Vice-Presidents	14 Rodi Kratsa-Tsagaropoulou (EPP) Alejo Vidal-Quadras (EPP) Gérard Onesta (Greens – EFA) Edward McMillan-Scott (ED) Mario Mauro (EPP) Miguel Angel Martínez Martínez (PES) Luigi Cocilovo (ALDE) Mechtild Rothe (PES) Luisa Morgantini (EUL-NGL) Pierre Moscovici (PES) Manuel António Dos Santos (PES) Diana Wallis (ALDE) Marek Siwiec (PES) Adam Bielan (UEN)
Elections	June 2004 (785 MEPs)
Meeting place	Strasbourg and Brussels
Website	europarl.europa.eu
← [[{{{previous}}} European Parliament|{{{previous}}}]] [[{{{next}}} European Parliament|{{{next}}}]] →

The European Parliament (Europarl or EP) is the directly elected parliamentary body 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 (492 million).

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.

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/Leopoldwijk 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.

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).

History

Main article: History of the European Parliament

The Parliament, like the other institutions, was not designed in its current form when it first met on 10 September 1952. 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, having no legislative powers. Its development since then 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". Even the Parliament's two seats, which have switched several times, is a result of various agreements or lack of agreements.

The Common Assembly renamed itself the "European Parliamentary Assembly" with the creation of the European Economic Community and Euratom in March 1958. It served all three communities, while the Commission and Council has separate bodies for each. The three merged in 1967, and the body was renamed to the current "European Parliament" in 1962. In 1971 the parliament's membership was expanded again, and its members were directly elected for the first time in 1979. 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. After that first election, the parliament held its first session on 11 July 1979, electing Simone Veil as its President. Veil was also the first female President of the Parliament since it was formed as the Common Assembly. Thereafter the membership of the European Parliament has simply expanded whenever new nations have joined; the membership was adjusted upwards in 1994 after German reunification. Recent treaties, including the Treaty of Nice and the proposed Reform Treaty, set the cap on membership for a single election at 750.

In 1999, pressure from the Parliament forced the resignation of the Santer Commission. In 2004, following the largest trans-national election in history, the European Council for the first time took account of the elections when choosing the President of the European Commission, and Parliament again exerted pressure to force a change in the proposed Barroso Commission. That connection has been enshrined in the proposed Reform Treaty. This change since its foundation was highlighted by Professor David Farrell of the University of Manchester;

"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."

Powers and functions

The Parliament's hemicycle (debating chamber) in Brussels

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.

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.

Legislative procedure

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. In this procedure, all draft legislation introduced by the Commission can be amended, and must be approved, by both chambers before becoming law.

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.

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. 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:

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.

Budget

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.

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.

Control of the executive

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. 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. 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.

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 ).

Supervisory powers

The Parliament also has other powers of general supervision, mainly granted by the Maastricht Treaty. The European Ombudsman is elected by the Parliament, who deals with public complaints against all institutions (EU citizens can petition the Parliament to act on European issues within the Parliament's sphere). 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. Finally, the Parliament has powers over the appointment of the members of the Court of Auditors and the president and executive board of the European Central Bank. The bank's president is also obliged to present an annual report to the parliament.

Members

Main article: Member of the European Parliament

The European Parliament represents around 496 million citizens of the EU. Its members 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. Prior to 1979 they were appointed by their national parliaments. As members are allocated seats according to population, the total number of MEPs should be 732; however, since 1 January 2007 there are 785 MEPs due to the accession of Romania and Bulgaria. The figure is due to drop to 736 after the 2009 election; on average, that is 671,000 citizens per MEP.

Political groups

Main article: European Parliament political group

MEPs in the Parliament are currently organised into eight different political groups with fifteen non-attached members, also known as non-inscrits. These groups are not, by definition, European political parties, but are usually composed of them. In some cases there is a single party forming its own group, or it may be numerous parties forming a coalition, although it should be noted that no parties form coalitions for government at present. There are three main groups (of more than one hundred MEPs). The European People's Party-European Democrats (EPP-ED) is the largest, with 278 MEPs. It is a centre-right alliance of the European People's Party (Christian Democrats) and European Democrats. The leader of the group is Joseph Daul, and it is the only group to include members from every EU state. The Party of European Socialists (PES) is the second largest group with 201 MEPs. It is a centre-left party led by Martin Schulz. The Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) is the third largest force in Parliament with 103 MEPs. It is a liberal-centrist alliance of the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party and the European Democratic Party, led by Graham Watson. There are a further five groups, including the greens, nationalists and fringe groups. Recognised groups have to include twenty members from one-fifth of member states.

The political parties comprising the parliamentary groups are themselves composed of national parties. For example, the British Conservative Party forms part of the European Democrats, which, in turn, forms part of the EPP-ED group. Therefore, the make-up of the Parliament's groups are more fluid, with national or European parties easily able to switch between groups, which often occurs after elections or an enlargement, for example, the formation of Identity, Tradition, Sovereignty (ITS) after the accession of Romania and Bulgaria. Groups such as ITS are primarily formed for the rights and financial subsidies offered to formal groups in the Parliament, however the establishment of ITS caused a minor political storm in the parliament due to the ideology of ITS; the members of the group are far-right, so there are concerns about public funds going towards such a group. 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.

Elections

Main article: Elections in the European Union

2004 results

EP group		Seats
	EPP-ED	268
	PES	199
	ALDE	88
	G-EFA	42
	GUE/NGL	41
	UEN	27
	ID	33
	N.I.	33
Turnout		45.5%

Elections have taken place, directly in every member-state, every five years since 1979. As of 2004 there have been six. Occasionally, when a member joins mid-term, a by-election will be held to elect their members. This has happened four times, the last time was when Romania and Bulgaria joined in 2007 (see below). Elections take place across several days according to local custom and, aside from having to be proportional, the electoral system is chosen by the member-state. This includes allocation of sub-national constituencies; while most members have a national list, some, like the UK and France, divide their allocation between regions. Seats are allocated to member-states according to their population, with no state having more than 99, but no fewer than 5, in order to maintain proportionality.

The most recent Union-wide elections to the European Parliament were the European elections of 2004, held in June of that year. They were the largest simultaneous transnational elections ever held anywhere in the world, since nearly 400 million citizens were eligible to vote. The proportion of MEPs elected in 2004 who were female was 30.2%; in 1979 it was just 16.5%. The next Union-wide elections will be in 2009. There are a number of proposals to "dress up" the next elections to attract greater public attention to them. These include most notably the idea of linking them more closely to the Commission presidency. This would be by having political parties running with candidates for the job, so the largest party would essentially be forming the government, as in the parliamentary system of government. It is hoped such changes would add legitimacy and counter the falling turnout which has dropped consistently every year since the first election, and from 1999 it has been below 50%. In 2007 both Bulgaria and Romania are electing their MEPs in by-elections, having joined at the beginning of 2007. The Bulgarian election saw the lowest ever turnout for a European election, just 28.6%. The Romanian elections were delayed due to internal political issues but have to be held by the end of 2007.

Proceedings

Each year the activities of the Parliament cycle between committee weeks where reports are discussed in committees and interparliamentary delegations meet, political group weeks for members to discuss work within their political groups and session weeks where members spend 3½ days in Strasbourg for part-sessions. In addition six 2-day part-sessions are organised in Brussels throughout the year. Four weeks are allocated as constituency week to allow members to do exclusively constituency work. Finally there are no meetings planned during the summer weeks. The Parliament has the power to meet without being convened by another authority. Its meetings are partly controlled by the treaties but are otherwise up to Parliament according to its own "Rules of Procedure" (the regulations governing the parliament).

The hemicycle in Strasbourg

During sessions, members may speak after being called on by the President, with a time limit of one minute. Members of the Council or Commission may also attend and speak in debates. Partly due to the need for translation, and the politics of consensus in the chamber, debates tend to be calmer and more polite than, say, the Westminster system. Voting is conducted primarily by a show of hands, that may be checked on request by electronic voting. Votes of MEPs are not recorded in either case however, that only occurs when there is a roll-call ballot. That is when each MEP in turn is called by name, in alphabetical order, to state their support or opposition. This is a historical system used when the Parliament was much smaller in membership and is rarely used now. Votes can also be a completely secret ballot (for example when the President is elected). All recorded votes, along with minutes and legislation, are recorded in the Official Journal of the European Union and can be accessed online.

Members are arranged in a hemicycle according to their political groups who are ordered mainly by left to right, but some smaller groups are placed towards the outer ring of the Parliament. All desks are equipped with microphones, headphones for translation and electronic voting equipment. The leaders of the groups sit on the front benches at the centre, and in the very centre is a podium for guest speakers. The remaining half of the circular chamber is primarily composed of the raised area where the President and staff sit. Further benches are provided between the sides of this area and the MEPs, these are taken up by the Council on the far left and the Commission on the far right. Both the Brussels and Strasbourg hemicycle roughly follow this layout with only minor differences. With access to the chamber limited, entrance is controlled by ushers who aid MEPs in the chamber (for example in delivering documents). The ushers also act as a form of police in enforcing the President, for example in ejecting an MEP who is disrupting the session (although this is rare). The first head of protocol in the Parliament was French, so many of the duties in the Parliament are based on the French model first developed following the French Revolution. The 180 ushers are highly visible in the Parliament, dressed in black tails and wearing a silver chain, and are recruited in the same manner as the European civil service. The President is allocated a personal usher.

President

Main article: President of the European Parliament

The President, currently Hans-Gert Pöttering of the EPP, is essentially the speaker of the Parliament. He or she presides over the plenary when it is in session and the President's signature is required for all acts adopted by co-decision, including the EU budget. The President is also responsible for representing the Parliament externally, including in legal matters, and for the application of the rules of procedure. He or she is elected for two-and-a-half-year terms, meaning two elections per parliamentary term.

President Hans-Gert Pöttering

A number of notable figures have been President of the Parliament and its predecessors. The first President was Paul-Henri Spaak, one of the founding fathers of the Union. Other founding fathers include Alcide de Gasperi and Robert Schuman. The two female Presidents were Simone Veil in 1979 (first President of the elected Parliament) and Nicole Fontaine in 1999, both Frenchwomen.

During the election of a President, the plenary is presided over by the oldest member of the Parliament. In 2004 and 2007 this was Giovanni Berlinguer. While the oldest member is in the chair, they hold all the powers of the President, but the only business that may be addressed is the election of the President.

Organisation

Below the President, there are 14 Vice-Presidents who chair debates when the President is not in the chamber. There are a number of other bodies and posts responsible for the running of parliament besides these speakers. The two main bodies are the Bureau, which is responsible for budgetary and administration issues, and the Conference of Presidents which is a governing body composed of the presidents of each of the parliament's political groups. Looking after the financial and administrative interests of members are six Quaestors. Committees and Delegations are represented by their chairmen in the form of the Conference of Committee and the Conference of Delegation Chairmen. The political groups also play a major role in the parliament.

Committees are composed of MEPs, with a chairman and three vice-chairmen leading the numerous committee members. The Committees produce reports for debate, usually compiled by a rapporteur. When drafting legislation, the Commission would consult the relevant committee who could propose amendments. Temporary committees may be set up to deal with a particular issue. Delegations of the Parliament are formed in a similar manner and are responsible for relations with Parliaments outside the Union.

In addition to Delegations, MEPs also participate in a number of international bodies, for example the ACP EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly, the Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly, the Euro-Latin American Parliamentary Assembly, the Transatlantic Legislators' Dialogue and through election observation in third countries. Every year since 1988, on the anniversary of the signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Parliament has awarded the Sakharov Prize to someone (or a number of people) who have dedicated their lives to defend freedoms and human rights.

Translation

Speakers in the European Parliament are entitled to speak in any of the EU's 23 official languages, ranging from English and French to Maltese and Irish. Simultaneous translation is offered in all plenary sessions, and all final texts of legislation are translated. With twenty-three languages, the European Parliament is the most multilingual parliament in the world and the biggest employer of interpreters in the world (employing 350 full time and 400 free-lancers when there is higher demand). Citizens may also address the Parliament in Basque, Catalan/Valencian and Galician.

Translation booths in the Brussels hemicycle

Usually a language is translated from a foreign tongue into a translator's native tongue. Due to the large number of languages, some being minor ones, since 1995 translation is sometimes done the opposite way, out of a translator's native tongue (the "retour" system). In addition, a speech in a minor language may be translated via a third language for lack of interpreters ("relay" interpreting) —for example, when translating Estonian into Maltese. Interpreters need to be proficient in two other Union languages besides their native language. Due to the complexity of the issues, translation is not word for word. Instead, interpreters have to convey the political meaning of a speech, regardless of their own views. This requires detailed understanding of the politics and terms of the Parliament, involving a great deal of preparation beforehand (e.g. reading the documents in question). Difficulty can often arise when MEPs use colourful language, jokes and word play or speak too fast.

While some see speaking their native language as an important part of their identity, and can speak more fluently in debates, the translation and the cost of it has been criticised by some. A 2006 report by MEP Alexander Stubb highlighted that by only using English, French and German costs could be reduced from 118,000 euro per day (for 21 languages then—Romanian and Bulgarian having not yet been included) to 8,900 euro per day. Although many see the ideal single language as being English due to its widespread usage, there is a campaign to make French the single tongue for all legal texts, due to its more precise legal language, overcoming ambiguity between translations of legislation. Although this would not directly affect translation in the plenary, it would shift the balance towards French when discussing draft legislation.

Seat

Main article: Location of European Union institutions

File:Institutions europeennes IMG 4292.jpg

The cost of two seats has been a cause of controversy (the Strasbourg building)

The Parliament is based in three different cities with numerous buildings. A protocol attached to the Treaty of Amsterdam requires that 12 plenary sessions be held in Strasbourg (none in August but two in September), which is the Parliament's official seat, while extra part sessions as well as committee meetings are held in Brussels. Luxembourg hosts the Secretariat of the European Parliament.

The Strasbourg seat is seen as a symbol of reconciliation between France and Germany (Strasbourg having been fought over by the two countries in the past). However it is questioned over the cost of having two seats for the parliament. While Strasbourg is the official seat, and sits alongside the Council of Europe (with which the "mutual cooperation" is being continuously "fostered"), Brussels is home to nearly all other major EU institutions, with the majority of Parliament's work already being carried out there. Therefore despite Strasbourg being the main seat, it is the one most questioned, although some do believe Strasbourg should be the single capital.

Critics have described the two-seat arrangement as a "travelling circus", and there is a strong movement to establish Brussels as the sole seat. This is due to the fact that the other political institutions (the Commission, Council and European Council) are located there, and hence Brussels is treated as the 'capital' of the EU. This movement has received strong backing through numerous figures, including the Commission First-Vice President who stated that "something that was once a very positive symbol of the EU reuniting France and Germany has now become a negative symbol—of wasting money, bureaucracy and the insanity of the Brussels institutions". The Green party has also noted the environmental cost in a study led by Jean Lambert MEP and Caroline Lucas MEP; in addition to the extra 200 million euro spent on the extra seat, there are over 20,268 tonnes of additional carbon dioxide, undermining any environmental stance of the institution and the Union. The campaign is further backed by a million-strong online petition started by MEP Cecilia Malmström. In 2006 there were allegations of irregularity in the charges made by the city of Strasbourg on buildings the Parliament rented which harmed the city's image further. A poll of MEPs also found 89% of the respondents (39%) wanting a single seat, and 81% preferring Brussels. Another, more academic, survey found 68% support. This has not affected the position of France, which can veto any such move, with French President Nicolas Sarkozy stating that its seat is "non-negotiable".

Future of the Parliament

The proposed Reform Treaty, the details of which were agreed in June 2007, largely retains the reforms outlined in the rejected Constitutional Treaty. Overall, powers would be increased. For example, nearly all policy areas would fall under co-decision procedure (now called the "ordinary legislative procedure") meaning that the Parliament would have practically equal powers to those of the Council (now officially the Council of Ministers). In the remaining minority of areas in which the powers remain unequal, the Council must consult the Parliament and/or seek its approval on the legislation. The Parliament also gains greater powers over the entirety of the EU budget, not just non-compulsory expenditure, through the ordinary legislative procedure. In terms of the composition of the Parliament there would be little change, however the minimum number of seats would be increased from 5 to 6 and the maximum number would be reduced from 99 to 96. There would also be basic rules on the distribution of seats in the Parliament, rather than them being negotiated at each enlargement. Decisions about the composition of the Parliament are currently made by the Council, this would remain so but the decision would be made based on a proposal from the Parliament itself.

The European Council would be bound to take into account the latest elections when proposing the Commission President, something that they willingly did after the 2004 election. As currently, the Parliament's consent is needed for the President to take office, however the Reform Treaty now uses the word "elect" rather than "approve" to refer to this procedure. This is an area however in which the Council of Ministers plays no part. It will remain to be seen whether calling it an election will spur political groups to use their power and mandate to force their own candidates upon the European Council in the same way as, for example, the British House of Commons does in its relation to their Queen. There have been suggestions that the parliament's political groups may propose their own candidates before the 2009 election; aiding this there are plans to strengthen European political parties.

In addition to the institutional reforms brought by the Reform Treaty, in 2007 the President set up a special working group on parliamentary reform to improve the efficiency and image of the Parliament. Some ideas include livening up the plenary sessions and a State of the Union debate. It is due to produce a final report in 2008, and put the recommendations into practice by the 2009 elections. One of the group's key reform ideas, extra debates on topical issues, was rejected by MEPs in July 2007 over fears it would disrupt committee work while attracting very few attendees. On the back of that rejection however, MEPs have backed a proposal to use the European symbols more often in the Parliament. This comes after the European Council's agreement for the Reform Treaty dropped the provisions of the Constitution which would have given the symbols official status. Jo Leinen MEP suggested that the Parliament take the avant-garde in using the flag and anthem, the latter being rarely used in Parliament. The Parliament first adopted the European flag in 1983, three years before it was formally adopted by the Communities as a whole.

See also

European Assizes Model European Communities Project List of European Union directives Current MEPs

Pan-African Parliament Latin American Parliament United States Congress National People's Congress

Further reading

• Attwool, Elspeth (2000). To the Power of Ten: UK Liberal Democrats in the European Parliament (Centre for Reform Papers). Centre for Reform. ISBN 978-1902622170.
• Butler, David (2005). British Politics and European Election. London: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-1403935854. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
• Farrell, David (2007). Representing Europe's Citizens?: Electoral Institutions and the Failure of Parliamentary Representation. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0199285020. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
• Hix, Simon (2007). Democratic Politics in the European Parliament (Themes in European Governance). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0521694605. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
• Hoskyns, Catherine (2000). Democratizing the European Union: Issues for the twenty-first Century (Perspectives on Democratization. Manchester University Press. ISBN 978-0719056666. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
• Corbett, Richard; Jacobs, Francis; Shackleton, Michael (2007), The European Parliament (7 ed.), London: John Harper Publishing, ISBN 978-0955114472 {{citation}}: Check |author2-link= value (help); External link in |author2-link= and |publisher= (help)
• Judge, David (2003). The European Parliament (European Union). London: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-0333598740. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
• Kreppel, Amie (2001). The European Parliament and Supranational Party System: A Study in Institutional Development (Cambridge Studies in Comparative Politics). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0521000796.
• Van der Laan, Lousewies (2003). The Case For a Stronger European Parliament. London: Centre for European Reform. ISBN 1901229491.
• Lodge, Juliet (200-04-18). The 2004 Elections to the European Parliament. London: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-1403935182. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
• Maier, Michaela; Tenscher, Jens (2006). Campaigning in Europe, Campaigning for Europe: Political Parties, Campaigns, Mass Media and the European Parliament Elections 2004 (Medien). Lit Verlag. ISBN 978-3825893224.
• Rittberger, Berthold (2007). Building Europe's Parliament: Democratic Representation Beyond the Nation State. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0199231997.
• Schmitter, Philippe (2000). How to Democratize the EU...and Why Bother? (Governance in Europe). Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. ISBN 978-0847699056.
• Scully, Rodger (2005). Becoming European?: Attitudes, Behaviour, and Socialization in the European Parliament. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0199284320.
• Smith, Julie (1999). Europe's Elected Parliament (Contemporary European Studies). London: Continuum International Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0333598740.
• Steuenberg, Bernard (2002). The European Parliament on the Move: Toward Parliamentary Democracy in Europe (Governance in Europe). Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. ISBN 978-0742501263. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
• Watson, Graham (2004). EU've Got Mail!: Liberal Letters from the European Parliament. Baghot Publishing. ISBN 978-0954574512.

External links

Official web site Live streaming debate Previous recorded debates Session information Legislative Observatory Official Register of MEPs Rules of Procedure Offices in Member states EP Fact Sheets

Eurela Election News BBC Parliament guide Daylife.com Parliament news Europedia Policies and legislation guide University of Cambridge study