| A guide to the European Parliament |
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There are currently 785 MEPs, 78 of whom come from the UK.
At the 2004 European Parliament elections, 732 MEPs were elected from the then 25 member states of the EU. With the accession of Romania (35 MEPs) and Bulgaria (18 MEPs), there will be an additional 53 MEPs until the June 2009 European elections.
After the 2009 elections, under present arrangements there would be a total of 736 MEPs, of which 72 would come from the UK. Once the Reform Treaty comes into force the Parliament will consist of 751 seats, of which 73 will come from the UK.
Most of the time, Parliament and the MEPs are based in Brussels where its specialist committees meet to scrutinize proposals for new EU laws. Parliament meets for one week a month in Strasbourg in full plenary session to amend and vote draft legislation and policy. A number of additional two-day plenary sessions are also held in Brussels. The headquarters of Parliament's civil service is located in Luxembourg, in accordance with the decision of the EU member states, though many of its officials are based in Brussels. In addition to their growing role as legislators, MEPs approve the appointment of the European Commission, decide the EU budget with the member states, monitor spending, approve international agreements, question EU Commissioners and national Ministers, and appoint the European Ombudsman. Citizens have the right to petition the European Parliament. MEPs do not sit in national delegations in the Parliament, but in multinational political groups. The centre-right European People's Party (EPP) and European Democrats, which includes British Conservatives, is the largest political group. British Labour MEPs belong to the Party of European Socialists, the second biggest group. The Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE), where the largest national contingent is from the UK, is third biggest, closely followed by the Green / European Free Alliance which has brought together Green MEPs from 13 countries, including Britain's two Green members, and nationalist parties, including Plaid Cymru and SNP members. Ten United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) MEPs joined the Independence and Democracy Group. Two other members, elected on UKIP lists in 2004 now sit with the non-attached members. One UK MEP from Northern Ireland sits with the European United Left / Nordic Green Left. The other grouping, with no members from the UK, is the Union for Europe of the Nations. One more MEP from Northern Ireland sits as an independent. Click here for a breakdown of the political groups in the European Parliament. Links to political groups websites are here. The European Parliament's budget for the year 2007 was €1,397 million. This covers staff costs, buildings, MEPs' travel allowance and expenses. The Parliament employs about 5900 people, of whom about 1300 work in the linguistic services covering 23 working languages. Salaries of MEPs are the same as national MPs in their own countries: UK MEPs and MPs currently earn £61,820 per year subject to UK tax. EU leaders have been asked by Parliament to agree a standard EU-wide salary for MEPs as part of a package for reforming pay and expenses.
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Last updated March 26th, 2008
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