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1 1 (January 27, 2021)

handle is hein.crs/govebrn0001 and id is 1 raw text is: The European Parliament and U.S. Interests A Key EU Institution The European Parliament (EP) is the only directly elected institution of the 27-country European Union(EUI). The EP's 705 members represent the EU's roughly 445 million citizens. The most recent EP elections were in May 2019. The EP has accumulated more power over time as part of EU efforts to improve democratic accountability and transparency in EU policymaking. Enhancedpowers since the 2009 Lisbon Treaty have made the EP a more important actor on severalis sues of U.S. concern, including trade, data privacy, and counterterrorism. Congress-EP ties are long-standing, and Congress may be interested in EP activities given the EP's potentialto influence key aspects of U.S.-EU relations. Role and Responsibilities The EP plays a role in the EU's legislative and budget processes andhas a degree of oversightresponsibility. The EP works closely with the two other main EU institutions: the European Commission, which represents the interests of the EU as a whole and functions as the EU's executive, and the Councilofthe European Union (orthe Council of Ministers), which represents the interests of the EU's national governments. Althoughthe European Commissionhas theright of legislative initiative, the EP shares legislative power with the Council of Ministers in most policy areas, giving the EP the right to accept, amend, or reject the vast majority of EU laws (with some exceptions, such as taxation and most aspects of foreign policy). Both theEP and the Council of Ministers must approve a European Commissionproposal for it to become EUlaw in a process known as the ordinary legislativeprocedure or co-decision. The EP also must approvethe accession ofnewEUmember states (ora member state's withdrawal) and has the right to approve or reject international accords, including EU trade agreements. The EP decides how to allocate the EU's budget jointly with the Council of Ministers (although neither the EP nor the Council of Ministers can affect the size ofthe EU's annualbudget, which is fixed as a percentage ofthe EU's combined gross national income). In addition, the EP has a supervisory role over the European Commis s ion and some limited oversight over the activities of the Council of Ministers. The EP monitors the management of EU policies, can conduct investigations andpublic hearings, and must approve each new slate of European Commissioners every five years. Structure and Organization Members ofthe European Parliament (MEPs) serve five- year terms. Voting for the EP takes place on a national Updated January 27, 2021 basis, with the number ofMEPs elected in each EUcountry based roughly on population size. Political Groups Once elected, MEPs caucus according to political ideology rather than nationality. Apolitical group must contain at least 23 MEPs from a minimum of seven EU countries. Currently, the EP has seven political groups-containing almo s t 200 national political p arties-that span the political spectrum, as well as anumber of non-attached or independent MEPs (see Figure 1). Although the majority of MEPs hail frompoliticalparties that support theEU project, some belong to parties considered to be anti- establishment and eu roskeptic-that is, critical of the EU or anti-EU to varying degrees. Mosteuroskeptic parties are on the right or far right (and are predominantly nationalist and anti-immigration), but a few are on the left or far left. No single group in the EP has an absolute majority, making compromise and coalition-building key features ofthe EP's legislative process. Historically, the center-right European People's Party (EPP) and the center-left Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament (S&D) have tended to dominate the EP by cooperatingin unofficialgrand coalitions. At the same time, voting blocs may vary on specific pieces of legislation. The relative s ize of the political groups also helps to determine EP leadership and committee posts. EP Leadership, Committees, and Delegations MEPs elect a president of the European Parliament every two-and-a-half years (twice per parliamentary term). The president oversees the work of the EP and represents it externally. David Sas soli, an Italian MEP from the S&D, was elected as EP presidentin July 2019. The EP has 20 standing committees that are key actors in the adoption of EU legislation. In terms of their importance and power, EP committees rival those in the U.S. Congress and surpass those in most national European legislatures. Each committee considers legislative proposals put forwaid by the European Commis sion thatfall within its jurisdiction and issues a recommendation to the fullEP on whether to adopt, amend, or reject the proposed legislation. The EP also plays a role in the EU's internationalpresence with 44 delegations that maintain parliament-to-parliament relations throughout theworld (including with the U.S. Congress). Location and Administration Strasbourg, France, is the official seat of the EP. This location, close to the border with Germany, symbolizes Europe's postwar reconciliation. Plenaries typically are held in Strasbourg once per month, and committee meetings and some part-plenary sessions occur in Brus sels, Belgium. https://crs rept

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