The European Parliament

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The European Parliament
European Parliament, Strasbourg
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EU Institutions, financial bodies and advisory
bodies
proposes
decide
European Court of Justice
Vote of confidence / vote of no confidence
Budgetary power, Codecision, Consultation
procedures
European Court of Editors
European Central Bank
Economic and Social Committee
Committee of the Regions
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How Parliament is organised

• The European Parliament is the only supranational
  institution whose members are democratically
  elected by direct universal suffrage. It
  represents the people of the Member States. The
  European Parliament, which is elected every five
  years, is involved in drafting numerous laws
  (directives, regulations etc.) that affect the
  daily life of every citizen.

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Members I

• Each Member State decides on the form its
  election will take, but follows identical
  democratic rules a voting age of 18, equality
  of the sexes and a secret ballot.European
  elections are already governed by a number of
  common principles direct universal suffrage,
  proportional representation and a five-year
  renewable term.
• The seats are, as a general rule, shared out
  proportionately to the population of each Member
  State. Each Member State has a set number of
  seats, the maximum being 99 and the minimum
  five.

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Members II

• Equality of men and women the proportion of
  women in the European Parliament has risen
  steadily. At present about one third of MEPs are
  women.
• MEPs divide their time between Brussels,
  Strasbourg and their constituencies. In Brussels
  they attend meetings of the parliamentary
  committees and political groups, and additional
  plenary sittings. In Strasbourg they attend 12
  plenary sittings. In parallel with these
  activities they must also, of course, devote time
  to their constituencies.
• The Members of the European Parliament are
  grouped by political affinity and not by
  nationality.

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Members III

• They exercise their mandate in an independent
  fashion.
• Members of the European Parliament, whose powers
  have become more and more extensive, influence
  every area of the day to day life of the European
  public the environment, consumer protection and
  transport, as well as education, culture, health
  etc.
• Their status Members of the European Parliament
  receive the same salary as the Members of
  Parliament in their country of election. A draft
  statute is under discussion, which would equalise
  salary differences and make for transparency of
  MEPs pay.

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MEPs per countries
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Political groups I

• Each takes care of its own internal organisation
  by appointing a chair (or two co-chairs in the
  case of some groups), a bureau and a
  secretariat.
• The places assigned to Members in the Chamber are
  decided by political affiliation, from left to
  right, by agreement with the group chairmen.
• 19 Members are needed to form a political group,
  and at least five Member States must be
  represented within the group. Members may not
  belong to more than one political group.

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Political groups II

• Some Members do not belong to any political group
  and are known as non-attached Members.
• Before every vote in plenary the political groups
  scrutinise the reports drawn up by the
  parliamentary committees and table amendments to
  them.
• The position adopted by the political group is
  arrived at by discussion within the group. No
  Member can be forced to vote in a particular way.

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The EPs political groups
Stand Februar 2005
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Parliamentary committees I

• There are 20 parliamentary committees. A
  committee consists of between 25 and 78 MEPs, and
  has a chair, a bureau and a secretariat. The
  political make-up of the committees reflects that
  of the plenary assembly .
• The parliamentary committees meet once or twice a
  month in Brussels. Their debates are held in
  public.

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Parliamentary committees II

• The committees draw up, amend and adopt
  legislative proposals and own-initiative reports.
  They consider Commission and Council proposals
  and, where necessary, draw up reports to be
  presented to the plenary assembly.
• Parliament can also set up sub-committees and
  temporary committees to deal with specific
  issues, and committees of inquiry under its
  supervisory remit.
• The committee chairs coordinate the work of the
  committees in the Conference of Committee
  Chairmen.

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Delegations I

• There are 35 delegations, each made up of about
  15 MEPs.
• There are four types of delegation
• Interparliamentary delegations, whose task is to
  maintain relations with the parliaments of
  countries outside the European Union that have
  not applied for membership.
• Joint parliamentary committees, which maintain
  contact with the parliaments of countries that
  are candidates for accession to the European
  Union and States that have association agreements
  with the Community.

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Delegations II

• The European Parliaments delegation to the
  ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly links MEPs
  and parliamentarians from African, Caribbean and
  Pacific States.
• The European Parliament delegation to the
  Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly.

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Parliamentary powers
Codecision The Parliament takes part in the
adoption of the EU legislation on an equal basis
with the Council of Ministers.
Control over the Commission The Parliament can
support or overthrow the Commission.
Assent on the enlargement of the Union The EU
can only accept new members with the assent of
the Parliament.
Budget The Parliament decides jointly with the
Council on the expenditures of the EU, thereby
shaping its politics and policies.
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Parliament and the European Commission

• The Commission presents, explains and defends its
  legislative proposals to the parliamentary
  committees, and must take account of the changes
  called for by Parliament.
• The Commission is represented at all European
  Parliament plenary sittings, and must give an
  account of its policies when called upon to do so
  by a Member.
• The Commission is required to answer Members
  written and oral questions.

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Parliament and the Council of the European Union I

• The Council of the European Union, represented by
  its President, can contribute to any of the
  debates in plenary.
• At the beginning of each presidency the President
  of the Council of the European Union presents
  his/her programme to Parliament in plenary, and
  initiates a debate with the Members. At the end
  of the six-month presidency the President gives a
  final report to the European Parliament.

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Parliament and the Council of the European Union
II

• Up to four times a year a European Council
  (Summit) is held. This is a meeting of the Heads
  of State and Government of the Member States,
  also attended by the Commission President. It
  establishes the general political guidelines for
  the European Union. After each European Summit
  the President of the European Council presents
  Parliament with a report on the outcome of its
  activities.

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Parliament's powers and procedures

• Each revision of the Treaties has seen an
  increase in the power of the European Parliament
  in relation to the other institutions.Today the
  European Parliament is firmly established as a
  co-legislator, has budgetary powers and exercises
  democratic controls over all the European
  institutions.

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Democratic control through the EP
Vote of confidence Election of the Commissions
President and of the Commissioners
Vote of no confidence Possible overthrow of the
Commission
Temporary Committees to investigate grievances
Budgetary control Supervision of the Commissions
management of the budget
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Legislative power I

• How does the legislative process work in
  practical terms?
• A Member of the European Parliament, working in
  one of the parliamentary committees, draws up a
  report on a proposal for a legislative text
  presented by the European Commission, the only
  institution empowered to initiate legislation.
  The parliamentary committee votes on this report
  and, possibly, amends it. When the text has been
  revised and adopted in plenary, Parliament has
  adopted its position. This process is repeated
  one or more times, depending on the type of
  procedure and whether or not agreement is reached
  with the Council.

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Legislative power II

• n the adoption of legislative acts, a distinction
  is made between the ordinary legislative
  procedure (codecision), which puts Parliament on
  an equal footing with the Council, and the
  special legislative procedures, which apply only
  in specific cases where Parliament has only a
  consultative role.
• On sensitive questions (e.g. taxation,
  industrial policy, agricultural policy) the
  European Parliament gives only an advisory
  opinion (the consultation procedure). In some
  cases the Treaty provides that consultation is
  obligatory, being required by the legal base, and
  the proposal cannot acquire the force of law
  unless Parliament has delivered an opinion. In
  this case the Council is not empowered to take a
  decision alone.

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Legislative power II

• Parliament has a power of political initiative.
• It can ask the Commission to present legislative
  proposals for laws to the Council.It plays a
  genuine role in creating new laws, since it
  examines the Commissions annual programme of
  work and says which laws it would like to see
  introduced.

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Codecision I

• Codecision gives the same weight to the European
  Parliament and the Council of the European Union
  on a wide range of areas (for example, transport,
  the environment and consumer protection). Two
  thirds of European laws are adopted jointly by
  the European Parliament and the Council.

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Codecision I

• The Commission sends its proposal to Parliament
  and the Council.
• They consider it, and discuss it on two
  successive occasions.
• After two readings, if they cannot agree, the
  proposal is brought before a Conciliation
  Committee made up of an equal number of
  representatives of the Council and Parliament.
• Representatives of the Commission also attend the
  meetings of the Conciliation Committee and
  contribute to the discussions.
• When the Committee has reached agreement, the
  text agreed upon is sent to Parliament and the
  Council for a third reading, so that they can
  finally adopt it as a legislative text.
• The final agreement of the two institutions is
  essential if the text is to be adopted as a law.
• Even if a joint text is agreed by the
  Conciliation Committee, Parliament can still
  reject the proposed law by an absolute majority
  of its members.

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Budgetary power I

• The European Parliament and the Council of the
  European Union together constitute the Unions
  budgetary authority, which decides each year on
  its expenditure and revenue. The procedure of
  examining, then adopting, the budget takes place
  between June and late December.

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Budgetary power II

• n the case of compulsory expenditure (e.g.
  agricultural expenditure and expenditure linked
  to international agreements) it is the Council
  that has the last word.In the case of
  non-compulsory expenditure (other expenditure)
  Parliament decides in close collaboration with
  the Council.
• The European Parliament and the Council must
  adhere to the annual spending limits laid down in
  the multiannual financial perspective.

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Budgetary power III

• How is the budget adopted?
• The principle of annuality of the budget means
  that the budget is adopted for one year (the
  budget year begins on 1 January and ends on 31
  December).
• The Commission prepares a preliminary draft
  budget, which it submits to the Council of the
  European Union.
• On this basis the Council draws up a draft
  budget, which it forwards to the European
  Parliament for first reading.
• Parliament amends the draft in the light of its
  political priorities and returns it to the
  Council, which can amend it in its turn before
  returning it to the European Parliament.

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Budgetary power IV

• Parliament adopts or rejects the amended budget
  at second reading.
• It is the President of the European Parliament
  who finally adopts the budget.
• In the course of this budgetary procedure the
  Parliament makes changes and amendments to the
  draft budget proposed by the Council and the
  Commission.
• The budget cannot be implemented until it has
  been signed by the President of the European
  Parliament.

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Supervisory power I

• What ways of exercising control are available?
• Citizens right of petition
• Every European citizen has the right to petition
  Parliament to ask for problems to be remedied in
  areas within the sphere of activity of the
  European Union. Parliament has also appointed an
  Ombudsman, who deals with complaints by
  individuals against Community institutions or
  bodies with a view to reaching an amicable
  solution.

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Supervisory power II

• Inquiries
• The European Parliament also has the power to set
  up a committee of inquiry to look into violations
  or wrong application of Community law by Member
  States.
• One of these committees was set up, for example,
  at the time of the mad cow disease outbreak,
  leading to the establishment of a European
  veterinary agency.

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Supervisory power III

• Parliaments right of recourse before the Court
  of Justice of the European Communities
• Application for annulment of a legislative act
  damaging to parliamentary prerogatives.
• An action for failure to act can be brought
  against the Commission or the Council of the
  European Union if they fail to fulfil their
  obligations.

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Supervisory power IV

• Financial control
• The European Parliament has powers of control in
  the economic and monetary domain.
• The President, the Vice-President and the members
  of the Executive Board of the European Central
  Bank cannot be appointed by the Council until the
  European Parliament has given its assent.
• The President of the ECB presents its annual
  report to the European Parliament in plenary
  session.

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Oversight over the Commission and Council I

• The President of the Commission is appointed by a
  majority vote in the Council.Parliament approves
  or rejects the proposed appointment. Then, in
  accord with the President appointed, the Member
  States appoint the Commissioners.The College of
  Commissioners must then be endorsed as a whole by
  Parliament.

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Oversight over the Commission and Council II

• Parliament has the power to censure the
  Commission this is a fundamental instrument that
  can be exercised by the Members of the European
  Parliament to ensure democratic control within
  the Union. Parliament can force the College of
  Commissioners as a whole to resign.
• The Commission regularly submits reports to
  Parliament, such as
• The Annual Commission Report on the Functioning
  of the Communities
• The Annual Report on the Implementation of the
  Budget
• Through its scrutiny of these reports Parliament
  is able to exercise oversight.

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Oversight over the Commission and Council III

• Tabling written and oral questions by MEPs to the
  Council and the Commission is one of Parliaments
  means of exercising supervision.
• Parliament has a power of political initiative in
  that it can call on the Commission to submit a
  proposal to the Council of the European Union.

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Oversight over the Commission and Council IV

• It regularly invites the Commission and the
  Council of the European Union to develop existing
  policies or initiate new ones.
• Presidents in Office of the Council present their
  programme to Parliament at the beginning of their
  presidency and report on the results achieved at
  the end of their mandate.

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Parliament and the European Council I

• The presidency of the European Council is held by
  each Member State in turn for a six month period,
  under a rotating system.
• The European Council gives the necessary impetus
  for the development of the Union and sets out its
  general guidelines and political priorities,
  taking account of Parliaments recommendations.

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Parliament and the European Council II

• Each summit begins with a declaration by the
  President of the European Parliament, setting out
  the institutions key positions on the subjects
  to be addressed by the Heads of State and
  Government.
• At the end of each summit the President of the
  European Council presents a report to Parliament
  on its outcome and launches a debate with the
  Members of the European Parliament.

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Parliament and its political role

• World leaders flock to address the European
  Parliament, a truly international forum. Over the
  years, Parliament has become a focus for
  presenting the internal and external activities
  of the Union, meaning that Members of Parliament
  and, through them, the citizens can be
  involved in marking out their political vision
  for Europe.

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Foreign policy

• The Council consults Parliament on the main
  aspects and basic choices involved in the Common
  Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP). Parliament
  may put questions to the Council and make
  recommendations to it.The CFSP coordinates the
  foreign policies of the Member States of the
  European Union.

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Globalisation I

• The European Parliament plays an active role in
  discussions on globalisation.It keeps a close
  eye on the work of the World Trade Organization
  (WTO). The WTO is an international organisation
  whose member countries lay down the rules
  governing international trade.

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Globalisation II

• The European Parliament gives its assent to the
  outcomes of negotiations undertaken by the
  European Union within the WTO by making
  recommendations to the European Commission, the
  Unions main negotiator.
• Parliament stresses that the specific problems
  encountered by developing countries must be taken
  into account.

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Defending human rights

• The defence of human rights in the world is a top
  priority of the European Parliament. Parliaments
  Committee on Foreign Affairs directly addresses
  the issue of the defence of human rights outside
  the Union.

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Area of freedom, security and justice I

• The European Union has established an area of
  freedom, security and justicethat respects the
  Charter of Fundamental Rights of the Union
  andsupports the legal systems and traditions of
  each Member State.
• Thearea enhances and renders more functional the
  cooperation betweenMember States in police and
  customs matters, as well as judicialcooperation
  in civil and criminal matters.

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Area of freedom, security and justice II

• To guaranteea high degree of security for all
  citizens, the EU takes action tocombat all forms
  of crime (including the trafficking of drugs,
  arms andstolen cars corruption the sexual
  exploitation of childrenterrorism, etc.), racism
  and xenophobia.
• The area of freedom, security and justice means
  that citizens can move around freely and stay
  anywhere in the European Union.

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Area of freedom, security and justice III

• The Union also has powers in the fields of
  security and justice.Parliamentacts as
  co-legislator with the Council on much of the
  legislationrequired to establish the area of
  freedom, security and justice.

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Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European
Union

• The decision to draw up a Charter of Fundamental
  Rights for the European Union was taken at the
  Cologne European Council, held on 3 and 4 June
  1999.
• A convention made up of representatives of Heads
  of State and Government and the President of the
  Commission, as well as Members of the European
  Parliament and national parliaments, was given
  the task of drafting the Charter.
• The European Commission, the European Parliament
  and the Council of the European Union proclaimed
  the Charter of Fundamental Rights on 7 December
  2000, during the Nice European Council.

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• Thank you!
• Any Questions?