European Parliament

The European Parliament, also known as the European Parliament, Eurochamber or European Chamber, is the parliamentary institution that in the European Union directly represents the citizens of the Union and that together with the European Commission and the Council of the European Union exercises the legislative function. Described as one of the most powerful legislators in the world, the European Parliament is made up of 705 members representing the second largest democratic electorate in the world (after the Indian Parliament) and the largest transnational electorate (more than 400 million voters). in 2019). In addition, it is the only institution directly elected by citizens in the European Union.

The Parliament is considered the "first institution" of the European Union: it is mentioned first in the treaties and its president has protocol precedence over all other authorities at the European level. It shares with the Council of the European Union the legislative and budgetary competence, having control over the budget of the European Union. The European Commission, the executive body of the Union, is accountable to Parliament. Specifically, the European Parliament elects the President of the Commission, approves (or rejects) the appointment of the College of Commissioners, and can even dismiss it as a body by presenting a motion of no confidence.

Since the Parliament was founded in 1952, its powers have been extended several times, above all through the Maastricht Treaty in 1993 and the Lisbon Treaty in 2009. Elections to the European Parliament by universal, direct and secret suffrage are held every five years since 1979. Historically the two main groups in Parliament (together they own at least 50% of the chamber) have been the Group of the European People's Party and the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats.

The President of the European Parliament is in charge of directing parliamentary bodies and activities, presiding over deliberations and representing the European Parliament, both at the community level and in external relations with non-community states or international organizations. a fundamental role in organizing parliamentary debates, giving the floor, ensuring compliance with the Internal Regulations, and submitting matters to a vote, as well as proclaiming the corresponding results. At a formal level, his signature is of special importance as it grants executive character to the budgets approved in second reading. Likewise, his signature, together with that of the President of the Council of the European Union, will be essential for the correct formal approval of a legislative act adopted through the ordinary legislative procedure (former codecision). The President forms part of the Bureau along with fourteen vice-presidents and five quaestors in a collegiate body whose decisions are adopted by a majority of its members. The Board is in charge of the internal government of the Parliament, carrying out a multitude of functions, among which it is worth highlighting the preparation of budget forecasts; the administrative and financial organization of the Chamber; and the organization of the General Secretariat, as well as the appointment of the general secretary.

The European Parliament has two meeting places: the Louise Weiss Building in Strasbourg, France, which hosts twelve four-day plenary sessions each month and is the official seat of the Parliament, and the Espace Léopold building in Brussels, Belgium, for political group meetings and breakout sessions. Also, Parliament's committees meet regularly in Brussels, although they can also meet elsewhere. The General Secretariat of the European Parliament for its part, the administrative body, is based in Luxembourg. This large number of locations is the result of historical development of Parliament and has been the subject of controversy due to the high cost involved.

History

The European Parliament, like the other European institutions, was not designed in its current form when it first met on September 10, 1952. It is one of the oldest institutions and began as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and Steel Community, a consultative assembly of 78 parliamentarians drawn from the national parliaments of member states that did not possess legislative powers.

The Assembly of the CC. USA

First headquarters of the parliamentary assembly in Strasbourg.

Second headquarters, largest: Palacio de Europa, current headquarters of the Council of Europe, which was shared with the European Parliament between 1977 and 1999.

Between September 10 and 13, 1952, a Parliamentary Assembly made up of 78 deputies appointed by their respective national parliaments met for the first time within the framework of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC). This Assembly practically only had consultative powers, although it also had the power to force a resignation of the High Authority of the ECSC (the later European Commission) through a motion of no confidence. In 1957, through the Treaties of Rome, the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) were founded. The Parliamentary Assembly, which at this time was made up of 142 deputies, was now competent for the three Communities; Robert Schuman was elected as the first president of this enlarged body. Although the Assembly did not gain new powers, it began to call itself the European Parliament (a name that was not officially recognized by the member states until 1986). When the European Communities obtained their own budget in 1971, the Assembly was able to participate in decisions on planned expenditure, although not in the field of expenditure for the Common Agricultural Policy, which at that time was about 90% of the total budget European.

If the first direct European elections in 1979 gave it greater symbolic weight, the Single European Act in 1986 meant the first real expansion of powers for Parliament. With the so-called cooperation procedure, the European Parliament participated in general legislation and could officially adopt amendments to draft legislation, although the final word still remained with the Council of the EU.

Maastricht Treaty

This changed in the next step of expanding the powers of the European Parliament, the Maastricht Treaty of 1992. In this treaty, the codecision procedure was introduced for some political matters, according to which the Parliament had the same powers as the Council: He could not yet impose a bill against the wishes of the Council, but the Council could not decide without Parliament either. In addition, Parliament gained the power to appoint commissions of inquiry, which greatly expanded its control possibilities.

In the reforms in the treaties of Amsterdam 1997 and Nice 2001, the codecision procedure was extended to the great majority of the political matters of the European Union. However, it still has fewer powers than national parliaments in most democratic states. On the one hand, its powers are limited to the competences handed over to the European Community by the Member States, so the institution has no control over the policies sustained by the States in other political fields. On the other hand, its control is not complete either in two of the three pillars of the European Union: those that refer to the common foreign and security policy and police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters. In the community pillar, however, almost all decisions require the favorable consent of Parliament, which is also responsible for setting the annual budget of the European Communities.

On July 20, 2004, it was constituted for its sixth legislature. In it, he started with 732 MEPs (officially Member of the European Parliament or MPE); as of January 15, 2007 (entry from Romania and Bulgaria) there are 785. In 2008, Parliament consists of seven groups and a number of non-attached members. In their respective countries, these MEPs are members of around 160 different parties, most of which have come together at the European level to form European political parties. The two largest parliamentary groups in Parliament are the European People's Party - European Democrats (EPP-DE) and the European Socialist Party (PES).

Lisbon Treaty

The Lisbon Treaty of 2009 introduces several fundamental innovations in the functioning of the European Parliament. The codecision procedure, significantly renamed the "ordinary legislative procedure", covers most matters, with the exception of those that correspond to special legislative procedures.

The participation of national parliaments is also promoted, with noteworthy mechanisms for obtaining information; evaluation in matters of freedom, security and justice; and revision of the Treaties. Control of the principle of subsidiarity deserves special mention, by which a third of the national parliaments may force the Commission to review their proposal, even when it is the Commission itself that decides on its eventual modification. However, if the majority of the national parliaments agree, and the Commission continues to support the proposal, the final decision will rest with the European Parliament together with the Council.

The Treaty of Lisbon also introduces a citizens' initiative procedure, which requires the signature of at least one million citizens from several Member States, and which involves a request to the Commission to present a certain proposal. It should be noted that this is not an initiative procedure in the strict sense of the term, given that it is only a non-binding request to the Institution that has the true power of initiative.

According to the European Community treaty, it is expected that from the seventh legislature (2009-2014) Parliament will only have 736 members. After the approval of the Treaty of Lisbon, the number would be 751 MEPs (750 plus the president).

Roles and powers

The European Parliament has, basically, three tasks: examining and adopting European legislation, approving the EU budget and carrying out democratic control of the other institutions, especially the Commission. In addition, the Parliament has to give the go-ahead to important international agreements such as the accession of new EU Member States or trade and association agreements between the EU and other countries.

Legislative function

Para las ciudades, utilice la romanización del nombre de la ciudad, sin el "-si" (por ejemplo, Seúl, Busan). Si es necesario eliminar la ambigüedad, "Ciudad" se puede agregar

Condados

Para los condados, use la romanización del nombre del condado con "Condado" como la traducción de "-gun" o "-kun". Si es necesario eliminar la ambigüedad, se puede agregar el nombre de la división administrativa de nivel superior como clase genérica (p. ej., condado de Unsan, Pyongan del Sur).

After the Treaty of Lisbon, the codecision procedure (contained in article 294 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union) was renamed the ordinary legislative procedure, consisting in the joint adoption by the European Parliament and the Council, at the proposal of the Commission, of a regulation, a directive or a decision of a legislative nature.

This procedure, which places Parliament and the Council on an equal footing, will be the axis of the legislative function of the Institutions. Its scope of application covers the vast majority of possible matters, the exceptions corresponding to the so-called special legislative procedures.

Special legislation

Along with the ordinary legislative procedure, there are also other special legislative procedures, which are exceptional and are only applicable when the Treaties expressly indicate so. In this way, they consist of the adoption of a regulation, a directive or a decision, either by the European Parliament with the participation of the Council, or by the Council with the participation of the European Parliament.

Under the Treaty of Nice, the special procedures only extended to a few political matters. For example, in matters of agricultural policy or competition policy, Parliament's vote is not binding; and also the foreign policy of the European Union and police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters are intergovernmental. In the common commercial policy, finally, Parliament does not even have to be consulted.

The Treaty of Lisbon establishes a further reduction of the matters pertaining to special procedures. In this way, matters such as agrarian policy or cooperation in criminal matters are attributed to the ordinary legislative procedure.

Budgeting function

Budget proposal

The budgetary procedure, as it was configured after the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty in 2009, begins on September 1 and ends on December 31 of each budget year, that is, of each year. However, the first step in this regard was carried out some time before, when at the end of June the institutions, bodies and agencies of the Union sent the European Commission a general estimate of the expenses and income expected for the following year, in accordance with with its internal procedures. On the basis of said estimates consolidated by those of its own services, the Commission draws up various drafts and defines a preliminary draft under the responsibility of the budget commissioner, which he submits, after appropriate consultations, to the College of Commissioners. If approved, the text becomes a budget project. This phase of the process must conclude before September 1, the date on which the project is sent to the European Parliament and the Council and the procedure itself begins.

Approval of the budget

The Council will be the first to rule on the draft budget, submitting its reasoned position to Parliament before October 1.

For its part, the European Parliament may approve the Council's position, which would imply the adoption of the Budget. Similarly, if within 42 days they have not expressed their position, the Budget will be considered adopted. Finally, if the parliamentary majority approves the introduction of amendments to the Budget, the Conciliation Committee will automatically be convened. However, if within ten days, the Council decides to approve Parliament's budgetary amendments, the Conciliation Committee will not meet.

Conciliation Committee

Assuming that the Council does not approve Parliament's amendments, the Conciliation Committee will act, made up of the members of the Council and an equal number of MEPs. The Committee will have 21 days to agree on a joint text.

In the event that a joint text is not agreed upon within the Conciliation Committee, the Commission will have to present a new draft budget, thus returning to the first stage of the procedure.

However, if the Committee reaches an agreement on said joint text, it must submit it for the approval of the Council and Parliament, which will have a period of fourteen days to make a decision. If one of the institutions exceeds that term, it will mean adherence to the decision adopted by the other Institution, when it has indeed been pronounced; if none of the institutions pronounce on time, the text will be considered adopted.

In the event that the Council approves it and Parliament rejects it, the Commission must present another draft budget. In the event that the Council rejects it, but Parliament approves it, a period of fourteen days from the date of the Council's rejection will be opened, to decide by a majority of the members that compose it and three-fifths of the votes cast.

Political control function

The European Parliament is entrusted with broad functions of political control, both of the institutions and of compliance with Community Law and the development of different community policies.

In this way, the creation of a Temporary Commission of Investigation that hears a specific infringement of Community Law, or a misapplication of community policies is allowed. Likewise, the figure of the European Ombudsman will depend on Parliament, whose mission lies in the protection of natural and legal persons belonging to the European Union.

However, the most relevant matters of political control by the European Parliament are those related to community institutions, especially the Commission, and to a lesser extent, with the Council, the European Council, the Court of Auditors, or the Central Bank European.

Such powers of control over institutions are exercised with varying intensity depending on the Institution on which control rests, normally consisting of an obligation to exchange information, either through questions and interpellations, or through the possibility that Parliament expresses its position, which may or may not be binding.

About the Commission

The Commission is subject to an intense power of political control of the European Parliament, similar to the control exercised in parliamentarisms over the Government.

In addition to the questions that Parliament can ask the members of the Commission, and the periodic reports that the latter must submit to the former; There is a very important parliamentary decision-making power in relation to the investiture of the Commission, as well as its dismissal through a motion of censure.

Investment and censorship

Regarding the appointment of the Commission, the European Parliament must first approve the appointment of the President of the Commission; in a second stage, it may approve the appointment of the members that make up the Commission. The Council of the European Union will also intervene in this process, so it could be said that the Commission relies on the double investiture of the Council and Parliament.

Regarding the motion of censure, Parliament may force the dismissal of the Commission as a whole by means of a proposal that will have to be put to a vote three days after its presentation, and that will be approved by a majority of two thirds of the members. votes cast that represent, in turn, the majority of the MEPs that make up the Parliament.

About the Council

Parliament's power of control over the Council is substantially less than that exercised over the Commission, given that the Council is a body that theoretically tends to be placed on an equal footing with Parliament, forming a two-headed legislative power, within which, they represent the territorial (Council) and population (Parliament) principle.

In this way, Parliament will be able to formulate oral or written questions to the Council, and it will even be able to urge it to carry out a specific activity within its competence, a request that will not be binding.

About the European Council

Given the peculiar nature of the European Council, parliamentary powers of control are less, if possible, than those exercised over the Council.

The President of the European Council, at the end of each meeting, must present a report to the European Parliament. In return, the European Council may request the appearance of the President of the Parliament.

Composition

Evolution in the political composition of the PE since 1979 (first elections)
Conservatives and demochristians (CD-PPE (79-92),PPE (92-99),FE,PPE-DE (99-2009) National Conservatives (UDE,PPE,EDA,UFE,UEN,ECR,DE) Social Democrats (S,SOC,PES,S fakeD) Socialist Communists/Izqda. (COM,LU,EUL,EUL/NGL) Liberals and centrists (L,LD,LDR,ERA,ELDR,ALDE) Ecologists Ecologists and regionalists (RBW (84-89),RBW (89-94),G/EFA) Heterogeneous (CDI,TGI) Independent (NI) Sovereignists (EN,I-EN,EDD,IND/DEM,EFD) Populist Right (ER,DR,ITS)

Members

European elections

Current composition

Debate for the selection of the president of the Commission in 2019 from the candidates of the parties, a process known for the term spitzenkandidat.

Internal organization and structure

The European Parliament is endowed with governing bodies (Presidency, Bureau and Conference of Presidents), support bodies (General Secretariat) and working bodies (parliamentary committees and Delegations).

The Presidency and the Bureau of the European Parliament

The presidency of the European Parliament assumes the position of greatest responsibility and representation of the first institution of the community institutional framework; The European Parliament exercises, together with the Council of the European Union, the legislative and budgetary powers, and also performs the highest functions of political and advisory control.

The presidency directs and orders the debates and work of the Plenary, the Conference of Presidents of the Political Groups and the Bureau of Parliament, and ensures the correct application of the Regulations. It also has the highest representation, internal and external, of the institution, and its signature is, together with that of the presidency of the Council, essential for the entry into force of the legislative acts approved by both chambers. Whoever holds the presidency corresponds to the highest European protocol preference.

The presidency is elected by an absolute majority of Parliament, from among its members, and its mandate is two and a half renewable years (half of a legislature). The current President of the European Parliament is the Maltese MP Roberta Metsola since January 11, 2022.

The Bureau is the internal administrative and regulatory management body of the European Parliament. It is made up of the President of Parliament, the 14 vice-presidents and 5 quaestors, for a term of 2 and a half years, renewable.

The Bureau is the competent body for establishing the preliminary draft budget estimates of the European Parliament and for resolving all administrative, personnel and organizational matters. In the event of a tie of votes in the deliberations of the Bureau, the President has the casting vote. The Quaestors have an advisory voice in the Bureau.

Political groups

Each parliamentary political group decides its own organizational structure and internal operating rules that will inform the performance of the group and its deputies. However, the parliamentary dynamic itself (public debates, negotiations, political control of the College, legislation, etc...) and the usual functioning of its institutional bodies have traditionally favored a very similar and widespread internal configuration among all the political groups of the Chamber, despite the differences that, due to the composition of each group, can be observed. Thus, there are groups formed in the image of a single European political party, whose deputies it organizes (for example, the PPE Group); In these cases, the ideological cohesion and internal discipline of the group are usually very strong. There are also groups that, on the contrary, bring together deputies from different (although ideologically compatible) or even independent European political parties; In these, it is common for the rules of conduct and internal discipline to fulfill a function of coordination rather than true political direction, in the style of coalitions, although this also varies from one case to another.

Political groups of the European Parliament

This table is an excerpt from Ninth Legislature of the European Parliament § Parliament after Brexit.[chuckles]edit] Political group Political Party(s) Position Ideology Scalls European People’s Party (Democratic-Christians) (EPP) European People's Party: 178 European Christian Political Movement: 2 No European Party: 7 Right center Liberal conservatism Christian democracy Neoliberalism Europe Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament European Socialists Party: 140 European Democratic Party: 2 No European Party: 5 Left Social Democracy Democratic socialism Progress Europe Renewing Europe Group (RE) Liberals and Democrats in Europe (ALDE): 63 European Democratic Party: 9 No European Party: 26 Centre Liberalism Socio-liberalism Progress Europe Identity and Democracy Group (ID) Identity Party and Democracy: 62 No European Party: 14 Right end Right Populism Nationalist conservatism Anti-immigration Euroscepticism strong Grupo de Los Verdes / Alianza Libre Europea (Greens/EFA) European Green Party: 52 European Pirate Party: 4 European Free Alliance: 4* Alliance of the Nordic Green Left: 1 Animal Politics EU: 1 Volt Europe: 1 No European Party: 5 Left Left Transversalism Political Ecology Regionalism Independentism Europe European Conservatives and Reformers Group (ECR) European Conservatives and Reformers: 44 European Free Alliance: 3 European Christian Political Movement: 2 No European Party: 12 Right Right end Nationalist conservatism Neoliberalism Right Populism Moderate Euroscepticism Confederal Group of the European Union Left / Nordic Green Left (GUE/NGL) European Left Party: 21 Now the People: 9 Alliance of the Nordic Green Left: 3 Animal Politics EU: 1 No European Party: 5 Left Democratic socialism Marxism Anticapitalism Moderate Euroscepticism Unregistered (NI) Alliance for Peace and Freedom: 1 Animal Politics EU: 1 No European Party: 26 - -

Composition of political groups in the ninth legislature of the European Parliament

This table is an excerpt from Ninth Legislature of the European Parliament § Parliament after Brexit.[chuckles]edit] State Political groups of the European Parliament MEP's EPP S luminous RE ID G-EFA ECR GUE/NGL NI GermanyGermany 23 (CDU) 6 (CSU) 16 (SPD) 5 (FDP) 2 (FW) 11 (AfD) 21 (Grüne) 1 (Piraten) 1 (ÖDP) 1 (PARTEI) 1 (Volt) 1 (Familie) 5 (Linke) -1 1 (PARTEI) 1 (Tierschutz) +1 96 France 8 (LR-LC) 4 (PS) 1 (PP) 1 (ND) +1 17 (LREM) 5 (MoDem) 1 (MR) +2 23 (RN) +1 12 (EE-LV) 1 (PNC) +1 6 (FI) 79 +5 ItalyItaly 7 (FI) 1 (SVP) +1 18 (PD) -1 1 (IV) +1 29 (Lega) +1 6 (FdI) +1 14 (M5S) 76 +3 SpainSpain 13 (PP) +1 21 (PSOE) +1 7 (Cs) 1 (PNV) 1 (J.Nart) +1 2 (ERC)* 1 (CatComu) 4 (Vox) +1 3 (We can) 2 (IU) 1 (EH Bildu) 3 (Junts) 59* +5 PolandPoland 14 (PO) 3 (PSL) 5 (SLD) 3 (Wiosna) 27 (PiS) +1 52 +1 Romania Romania 10 (PNL) 2 (PMP) 2 (RMDSZ/UDMR) 9 (PSD) 2 (PRO) +1 8 (USR-PLUS) 33 +1 NetherlandsNetherlands 4 (CDA) 1 (CU) 1 (50+) 6 (PvdA) 5 (VVD) 2 (D66) +1 1 (PVV) +1 3 (GL) 3 (FVD) 1 (GSP) 1 (PvdD) 1 (GO) +1 29 +3 BelgiumBelgium 2 (CDenV) 1 (CDH) 1 (CSP) 2 (PS) 1 (SP.A) 2 (VLD) 2 (MR) 3 (VB) 2 (Ecolo) 1 (Groen!) 3 (NV-A) 1 (PvdA) 21 Czech RepublicCzech Republic 2 (TOP 09) 2 (KDU-CSL) 1 (STAN) 6 (ANO) 2 (Svobodni) 3 (Pirati) 4 (ODS) 1 (KSČM) 21 GreeceGreece 8 (ND) 2 (KINAL) 1 (Elliniki Lisi) 6 (SYRIZA) 2 (XA) 2 (KKE) 21 HungaryHungary 12 (FIDESZ) 1 (KDNP) 4 (DK) 1 (MSZP) 2 (Momentum) 1 (Jobbik) -2 21 Portugal 6 (PSD) 1 (CDS-PP) 9 (PS) 1 (PAN) 2 (PCP) 2 (BE) 21 Sweden Sweden 4 (MOD) 2 (KD) 5 (SAP) 2 (CP) 1 (FP) 3 (MP) +1 3 (SD) 1 (V) 21 +1 AustriaAustria 7 (ÖVP) 5 (SPÖ) 1 (NEOS) 3 (FPÖ) 3 (Grünen) +1 19 +1 BulgariaBulgaria 6 (GERB) 1 (BD) 5 (BSP) 3 (DPS) 2 (VMRO) 17 FinlandFinland 3 (KOK) 2 (SDP) 2 (KESK) 1 (SFP/RKP) 2 (PS) 3 (Vihr) +1 1 (VAS) 14 +1 DenmarkDenmark 1 (C) 3 (SD) 4 (V) 2 (KJV) +1 1 (DF) 2 (SF) 1 (Ø) 14 +1 Slovakia Slovakia 2 (SPOLU) 2 (KDH) 1 (OL'aNO) +1 3 (SMER) 2 (PS) 2 (SaS) 2 (L'SNS) 14 +1 CroatiaCroatia 4 (HDZ) 4 (SDP) +1 1 (IDS) 1 (HKS) 1 (ZZ) 1 (M.Kolakušić) 12 +1 Ireland 5 (FG) +1 2 (FF) +1 2 (Green) 1 (SF) 2 (IC) 1 (Ming) 13 +2 LithuaniaLithuania 3 (TS-LKD) 1 (A.Maldeikienė) 2 (LSDP) 1 (LRLS) 1 (DP) 2 (LVŽS) 1 (LLRA-KŠS) 11 LatviaLatvia 2 (VIENOTIBA) 2 (SDP) 1 (AP!) 1 (LKS) 2 (TB/LNNK) 8 SloveniaSlovenia 3 (SDS-SLS) 1 (NSi) 2 (SD) 2 (LMŠ) 8 EstoniaEstonia 1 (Isamaa) +1 2 (SDE) 2 (REF) 1 (KE) 1 (EKRE) 7 +1 CyprusCyprus 2 (DISY) 1 (EDEK) 1 (DIKO) 2 (AKEL) 6 Luxembourg 2 (CSV) 1 (LSAP) 2 (DP) 1 (Gréng) 6 MaltaMalta 2 (PN) 4 (PL) 6 Total MEPs EPP S luminous RE ID G-EFA ECR GUE/NGL NI 187 5 147 7 98 10 76 3 68* 7 61 1 39 2 29 28 705 46 Notes: Comparative data are related to the organization of groups after the 2019 European Parliament elections. The Republican Esquerra de Catalunya, which had left the seat of Oriol Junqueras, named Jordi Solé as a substitute. He accepted the post on 23 July 2020 but was proclaimed in effect on 3 January 2020.

Conference of Presidents

The Conference of Presidents is made up of the President of Parliament and the presidents of the political groups. Where appropriate, the president of a political group may be represented by a member of their group. Likewise, MEPs who are not registered in any political group may send a representative to participate in the Conference, who will have a voice, but I don't vote.

As a collegiate body, its decisions are adopted by consensus, or in its absence, by a majority of weighted votes in relation to the number of seats in the political group represented by each president.

Entrusted with functions of broad political and organizational relevance, the Conference of Presidents organizes the work of Parliament; fixes the details of the legislative programming (calendar and agenda of the plenary sessions, composition of the commissions and delegations); and knows about relations with countries not belonging to the European Union and non-EU organizations.

Parliamentary committees

Meeting room for parliamentary commissions

The Conference of Committee Chairmen is the body of the European Parliament that brings together all the chairpersons of the chamber's permanent and special parliamentary committees in order to coordinate their parliamentary activities and the legislative agenda. The Conference of Committee Chairmen elects its chairperson from among its members.

Support bodies

Operation

Sessions

The work of the European Parliament is arranged in annual sessions, which begin automatically (without the need for a call) on the second Tuesday of March of each year. Each annual session is made up of twelve periods of sessions, corresponding to the plenary meetings that the Parliament celebrates every month.

On the other hand, the Plenary may also meet in an extraordinary session, at the call of its president, whenever the Council, the Commission or the majority of MEPs request it.

Agenda of the day

Regarding the establishment of the agenda, the Regulations of the European Parliament establish a complex procedure that begins with the presentation, by the Conference of Presidents, of a project for the agenda. Said project must be approved by the Plenary, although the proposal of modifications by a commission, a political group or at least 40 deputies is allowed. After a brief round of reply and counter-reply, the Plenary will decide whether or not to admit such modifications.

Development of the sessions

There will be a quorum when a third of the members of Parliament are assembled. All voting is valid, regardless of the number of voters, unless at the request of at least 40 deputies the lack of said quorum is verified.

The Regulations also profusely regulate the development of the sessions, granting deputies the right to express themselves in the official languages they deem appropriate, as well as the right to have any speech translated into the official language of their choice.

On the other hand, the documentation on which the debates are based will have to be made available to the MEPs, and special care will be taken to respect the complex set of rules that regulate the distribution of the use of the word among the different speakers. Special cases of intervention are also contemplated, such as the so-called "one-minute interventions" or interventions for personal allusions.

International Activities

The European Parliament has 44 delegations, each one made up of fifteen MEPs and a presidency. The presidents of the different Delegations meet in the Conference of Delegation Presidents with the aim of coordinating their actions.

The fundamental task of the delegations is to maintain foreign relations with the parliaments of non-EU countries. In this sense, two fundamental types of Delegation are distinguished depending on the quality of the State with which they are related:

• Mixed parliamentary commissions: In charge of relations with the parliaments of the candidate countries to join the European Union, as well as of the countries with which a partnership agreement has been signed.
• Inter-Parliamentary Delegations: In charge of relations with parliaments of the rest of the extra-communitarian countries that do not correspond to the competence of the joint parliamentary committees mentioned above.

Offices

Headquarters of the European Parliament

Leopoldo Space in Brussels (Belgium)

Hemiciclo of Brussels

Hemiciclo de Strasbourg.

Space Léopold

Louise Weiss Building

The building was designed by French architecture studio Architecture Studio, which won the international competition. The building has 220,000 square meters. The circle and the ellipse dominate the building, the closed form of the classical period and the open lines of the baroque. It is located on the northwest side of the city of Strasbourg, and is named after Louise Weiss, a French politician, feminist, and European activist from the 1920s. Since 1999 it is the seat of the European Parliament. There the twelve plenary sessions of four days a year are held.

European Parliament Buildings in Luxembourg

Parliament uses only a few buildings in Luxembourg. The city is home to the General Secretariat of the European Parliament (employing over 4,000 people), mostly based in the Kirchberg district.

The buildings used are the Robert Schuman () and the Konrad Adenauer () and, more recently, the two new buildings, Tower A (TOA) and Tower B (TOB) located on both sides of Avenida John F. Kennedy ().

Some services are installed in the Gold Bell building () in the south of the city. The old chamber in Luxembourg still exists despite the fact that Parliament has not used it since 1981 (it is currently the seat of the EFTA Court).

Parlamentarium

Since October 14, 2011, the headquarters of the European Parliament in Brussels has a visitor center, the so-called Parlamentarium. It is a museum for citizens where you can explore the history of the Parliament and the European Union through an exhibition. Aimed at citizens of the Union, its content is therefore accessible in the 23 official languages and in sign language.

Relationship with the national parliaments of the European Union

Sakharov Prize