Jump to content

European Parliament

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by JLogan (talk | contribs) at 17:25, 16 June 2007 (control - veto, clearer.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

{{{number}}} European Parliament
{{{start}}} –
The logo of the European Parliament
Vice-Presidents
ElectionsJune 2004 (785 MEPs)
Meeting placeBrussels and Strasbourg
Websiteeuroparl.europa.eu
  • ← [[{{{previous}}} European Parliament|{{{previous}}}]]
  • [[{{{next}}} European Parliament|{{{next}}}]] →

The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary body of the European Union. Together with the Council of the European Union (the Council), it forms the bicameral legislative branch of the Union's institutions.

The Parliament, together with the Council, form the highest legislative body within the Union. However this is only within the competencies of the European Community being limited to specific policy areas, however Union law does override national law. 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).[1]

It has been directly elected since 1979, unlike similar European assemblies such as those of the Council of Europe and the Western European Union which are appointed. 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 (ceremonially mentioned first in the treaties), the Council has greater powers over legislation than the Parliament where codecision procedure (equal rights of amendment and rejection) doesn't apply. It has however had control over the EU budget since the 1970s and has a veto over the appointment of the European Commission.[2]

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. The European Parliament has two meeting places. At the "Espace Léopold" complex in Brussels and in Immeuble Louise Weiss in Strasbourg, but it is mostly based in the former complex. The cost of this has been of concern to some. The Secretariat of the European Parliament, the Parliament's administrative body, is based in Luxembourg.[3][4]

History

This article is part of a series on
Politics of the European Union
Member states (27)
Candidate countries
Countries with suspended accession negotiations
Applicant countries
Treaties and Declarations
Opt-outs
Treaties of accession
1972, 1979, 1985, 1994, 2003, 2005, 2011
Treaties of succession
1984, 2020
Other treaties
Abandoned treaties and agreements
Executive institutions
European Council
European Commission
Legislative institutions
Council of the EU
Presidency
Hungary Hungary
(July–December 2024)
Configurations
European Parliament
(Members)
National parliaments
Judicial institutions
Court of Justice of the EU
Auditory institutions
European Court of Auditors
Other auditory bodies
European Central Bank
Other bodies
European Investment Bank Group
European Stability Mechanism
European University Institute
Unified Patent Court
Agencies, decentralised independent bodies and joint undertakings
Other independent bodies
Advisory bodies
Inter-institutional bodies
Euratom
Euratom members
Associated states
Euratom since 1 January 2021
Euratom since 1 January 2021
Economic and Monetary Union
Eurozone members


Eurogroup


Other currencies in use
Non Euro countries relationship to Euro
Eurozone since 2015
Eurozone since 2015
Schengen Area
Non-EU members
Non-Schengen area EU member states
Schengen Area from January 2023
Schengen Area from January 2023
European Economic Area
EEA members
Non-EU members
Topics
European Economic Area
European Economic Area
Elections
European elections
Elections in EU member states
Law
Policies and issues
Foreign relations
High Representative
Foreign relations of EU member states
Defunct bodies
flag European Union portal
Main article: History of the European Parliament
File:Election Simone Veil 17-07-1979.jpg
Election of Simone Veil in 1979

The European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) established a "Common Assembly" in 1952, its 78 members drawn from the six national Parliaments of the ECSC's constituent nations. In March 1958 it became the "European Parliamentary Assembly" for ECSC, the European Economic Community and Euratom which merged in 1967. The body was renamed to the "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. After the first election the Parliament also elected its first female President, Simone Veil (left).

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 Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe, set the cap on membership for a single election at 750.[5]

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 European Constitution.[6][7]

Powers and functions

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 or 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.[8]

File:European Parliament Brussels Hemicycle high.jpg
The Parliament's hemicycle (debating chamber) in Brussels

Legislative procedure

With each new treaty, the powers of the Parliament have expanded. Its powers have been primarily defined through the Union's legislative procedure. 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 Union law.

Other procedures include cooperation, meaning the Council can overrule the Parliament if it is unanimous and the Consultation and Assent procedures which require just consultation of the Parliament or it has a veto, respectively. 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.[9]

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 it drastically, changing the fundamental principle of the law. The Financial Times described it in the following terms[10];

"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

File:16-12-04 Signature budget3.jpg
The EU budget needs the signature of the Parliament's President to become law

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.[11][12]

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. 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. As a body, the Commission must be approved by the European Parliament.[13] 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.

The Parliament also has the power to censure the Commission, as a body, once they are in power with a two-thirds majority.[14] 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.[15]

Supervisory powers

There are a number of other powers in the Parliament's domain. EU citizens can petition the Parliament on European issues, although this has to be within the Parliament's sphere the European Ombudsman is elected by the Parliament to deal with issues for the whole Union. It can also set up a Committee of Inquiry, for example over mad cow disease or CIA detention flights - the former let to the creation of the European veterinary agency. The Parliament can take other institutions to court if they break EU law or treaties. Finally, the Parliament has powers over the European Central Bank. The Parliament's consent is required for the appointment of the banks President, Vice-Presidents and executive board, with the bank's president also being required to present an annual report to the Parliament.[16]

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. 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. [17][18]

Template:Apportionment in the European Parliament2

Political groups

Main article: European Parliament political group
File:18-1-06 Daul.JPG
Joseph Daul, leader of the largest group, the centre-right EPP-ED

MEPs in the Parliament are currently organised into 8 different political groups with 15 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 coalition for government at present.[19][20]

There are three main groups (Over 100 MEPs). The European People's Party-European Democrats 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.[21] The Party of European Socialists is the second largest group with 201 MEPs. It is a centre-left party led by Martin Schulz.[22] The Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe 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.[23] There are a further five groups including the greens, nationalists and fringe groups. Recognised groups have to include 20 members from one-fifth of member states. [24]

The political parties comprising the parliamentary groups are themselves comprised of national parties. For example, the British Conservative Party forms party of the European Democrats which in turn forms party of the EPP-ED group. Hence the make up of the Parliaments 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 ITS after the accession of Romania and Bulgaria).[25][26]

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. Occasionally when a member joins mid-term they will hold by-elections, as can be seen with the elections in Romania and Bulgaria (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.[27]

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 2009. Elections are plagued by falling turnout, it has dropped consistently every year since the first election and from 1999 it has been below 50%.[28] 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% (See: European Parliament election, 2007). Romania will vote later in 2007.

Proceedings

File:Voting in the European Parliament.JPG
Voting in the Strasbourg hemicycle

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.[29]

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.[30][31] Voting is conducted primarily by a show of hands, that may be checked on request by electronic voting.[32]

The plenary sessions of the Parliament can be viewed live on the Internet at on the Parliaments website, translated into all languages. Séance en direct provides information on business and documents while the Legislative Observatory provides information on official texts and legislation.

President

File:8-05-08 Poettering expo23.JPG
The current President, Hans-Gert Pöttering
Main article: President of the European Parliament

The President is essentially the speaker of the Parliament, presiding over the plenary when it is in session. The signature of the President is required for all acts adopted by co-decision, including the EU budget. The President is also responsible for representing the Parliament externally, including legal matters, and the application of the "Rules of Proceedure" (the regulations governing the parliament). He or she is elected for two and a half year terms, meaning two elections per parliamentary term.[33][34]

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.[35]

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.[36]

Organisation

Below the President, there are 14 Vice-Presidents who chair debates when the President is not in the chamber. There are an 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.[37]

Translation

Translation booths in the Brussels hemicycle

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 23 languages the European Parliament is the most multilingual parliament in the world.[38]

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 report by MEP Alexander Stubb highlighted that nearly 9000 euro could be saved by only using English, French and German.[39]

Although many see the ideal single language as being English, due to its 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 direct affect translation in the plenary, it would shift the balance towards the Gallic tongue when discussing draft legislation.[40]

Other activities

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.[41]

Seat

File:Institutions europeennes IMG 4292.jpg
The seat in Strasbourg is seen as a symbol by some, and as a waste of money by others
Main article: Location of European Union institutions

The Parliament is based in three different cities. A protocol attached to the Treaty of Amsterdam requires that 12 plenary sessions be held in Strasbourg (none in August but 2 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.[42]

As Strasbourg is the official seat, the Parliament is sometimes informally referred to as the 'Strasbourg Parliament', and Strasbourg as the democratic (opposed to bureaucratic) capital of Europe. But for practical reasons, preparatory legislative work and committee meetings take place in Brussels.

The Strasbourg seat is seen by some as a symbol of reconciliation between France and Germany (Strasbourg being fought over by both 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 along side the Council of Europe (with which the "mutual cooperation" is being continuously "fostered"[43]), Brussels is home to nearly all other major EU institutions, with the majority of Parliaments 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.[44]

There is a strong movement to establish Brussels as the sole seat as the other political institutions (the Commission, European Council and Council of the European Union) are located there and hence is treated as the 'capital' of the EU. This movement has received strong backing through numerous figures, including the Commission First-Vice President[45] 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". Most notably, the campaign is backed by a million-strong online petition (oneseat.eu) started by MEP Cecilia Malmström.[46] However this has not so far affected the position of France, who can veto the move.

Chamber

File:26-04-07 Hemicycle STG 2.JPG
The hemicycle in Strasbourg

Members are arranged in a hemicycle according to their political groups who 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, 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.[47][48]

See also: Buildings of the European Parliament

Future of the Parliament

Under the proposed Constitution for Europe, which any future treaty is likely to be based on, the powers of the Parliament 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 entire 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 Constitution binds the European Council 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 Constitution 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.

Source: The Union's institutions: The European Parliament

See also

Other trans-national parliaments;

References

  1. ^ European Parliament Website. "Parliament - an overview. Welcome". Retrieved 2007-06-12.
  2. ^ European Parliament Website. "Parliament's powers and procedures". Retrieved 2007-06-12.
  3. ^ Eur-lex website. "Consolidated versions of the treaty on European Union and of the treaty establishing the European Community" (PDF). Retrieved 2007-06-12.
  4. ^ Wallström, Margot (2006-05-24). "My blog: Denmark, Latvia, Strasbourg". Retrieved 2007-06-12.
  5. ^ European Navigator. "European Parliament". Retrieved 2007-06-12.
  6. ^ Topan, Angelina (2002-09-30). "The resignation of the Santer-Commission: the impact of 'trust' and 'reputation'" (PDF). Retrieved 2007-06-12.
  7. ^ British Broadcasting Corporation (2004-10-30). "EU row candidate stands down". Retrieved 2007-06-12.
  8. ^ European Parliament website. "Fact Sheets 1.3.8 The Commission". Retrieved 2007-06-14.
  9. ^ European Parliament Website. "Powers: Legislative power". Retrieved 2007-06-12.
  10. ^ Financial Times (2006-02-23). "How the European parliament got serious". Retrieved 2007-06-12.
  11. ^ European Parliament Website. "Budgetary power". Retrieved 2007-06-12.
  12. ^ European Parliament Website. "How is the budget decided?". Retrieved 2007-06-12.
  13. ^ European Parliament Website. "Oversight over the Commission and Council". Retrieved 2007-06-12.
  14. ^ European Parliament Website. "Oversight over the Commission and Council". Retrieved 2007-06-12.
  15. ^ European Parliament Website. "Oversight over the Commission and Council". Retrieved 2007-06-12.
  16. ^ European Parliament Website. "Supervisory power". Retrieved 2007-06-12.
  17. ^ European Navigator. "Composition of the European Parliament". Retrieved 2007-06-12.
  18. ^ European NAvigator. "Parliament all set for enlargement". Retrieved 2007-06-14.
  19. ^ civitas.org.uk. "Party Politics in the EU". Retrieved 2007-06-12.
  20. ^ Kreppel, Amie (2002). "The European Parliament and Supranational Party System" (PDF). Cambridge University Press. Retrieved 2007-06-12.
  21. ^ EPP-ED website. "What is the EPP-ED group?". Retrieved 2007-06-13.
  22. ^ PES website. "The PES in the European Parliament". Retrieved 2007-06-13.
  23. ^ ALDE website. "ALDE MEPs". Retrieved 2007-06-13.
  24. ^ European Parliament website. "Rules of Procedure of the European Parliament. Rule 29: Formation of political groups". Retrieved 2007-06-15.
  25. ^ EurActiv.com. "European political parties and groups in the European Parliament". Retrieved 2007-06-12. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  26. ^ Kreppel, Amie (2002). "The European Parliament and Supranational Party System" (PDF). Cambridge University Press. Retrieved 2007-06-12.
  27. ^ European Parliament Website. "The European Parliament: electoral procedures". Retrieved 2007-06-12.
  28. ^ British Broadcasting Corporation (2004-10-30). "Bulgaria votes for European Parliament legislators". Retrieved 2007-05-20.
  29. ^ European Parliament Website. "European Parliament 2007 calendar of activities" (PDF). Retrieved 2007-06-12.
  30. ^ European Parliament Website. "Rules of Procedure of the European Parliament. Rule 141: Calling speakers and content of speeches". Retrieved 2007-06-12. {{cite web}}: no-break space character in |title= at position 57 (help)
  31. ^ European Parliament Website. "Rules of Procedure of the European Parliament. Rule 142: Allocation of speaking time". Retrieved 2007-06-12. {{cite web}}: no-break space character in |title= at position 57 (help)
  32. ^ European Parliament Website. "Rules of Procedure of the European Parliament. Rule 164: Disputes on voting". Retrieved 2007-06-12. {{cite web}}: no-break space character in |title= at position 57 (help)
  33. ^ European Parliament website. "Duties of the President". Retrieved 2007-06-12.
  34. ^ President of the European Parliament (see Functions). "Functions". Retrieved 2007-06-15.
  35. ^ President of the European Parliament (see Former Presidents). "Former E.P. Presidents". Retrieved 2007-06-15.
  36. ^ European Parliament Website. "Rules of Procedure of the European Parliament. Rule 11: Oldest member". Retrieved 2007-06-12.
  37. ^ European Parliament Website. "How the Parliament is Organised". Retrieved 2007-06-12.
  38. ^ European Parliament Irish Office (2007-01-11). "Press Release: Irish language arrives in European Parliament". Retrieved 2007-06-12.
  39. ^ Christian Science Monitor (2006-09-12). "In European Parliament, debate - in 21 languages - can be pricey". Retrieved 2007-06-12.
  40. ^ International Herald Tribune (2007-02-07). "Campaign to make French sole legal language in EU". Retrieved 2007-06-12.
  41. ^ European Parliament Website. "Human Rights Unit". Retrieved 2007-06-12.
  42. ^ Eur-lex website. "Consolidated versions of the treaty on European Union and of the treaty establishing the European Community" (PDF). Retrieved 2007-06-12.
  43. ^ Council of Europe (2007). "The Council of Europe and the European Union sign an agreement to foster mutual cooperation". Retrieved 2007-06-12.
  44. ^ Café Babel (2006-10-02). "The two-seat parliament farce must end". Retrieved 2007-06-12.
  45. ^ Wallström, Margot (2006-05-24). "My blog: Denmark, Latvia, Strasbourg". Retrieved 2007-06-12.
  46. ^ Malmström, Cecilia. "OneSeat.eu". Retrieved 2007-06-12.
  47. ^ European Parliament Website. "Brussels seating plan" (PDF). Retrieved 2007-06-12.
  48. ^ European Parliament Website. "Strasbourg seating plan" (PDF). Retrieved 2007-06-12.

Template:European Union-related topics

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=European_Parliament&oldid=138589561"