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Updated May 26, 2021

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 representthe EU's roughly 445 million
citizens. The most recent EP elections were in May 2019.
The EP has accumulatedmore 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 therightof
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
supervisoryrole overthe European Commission andsome
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 of the European Parliament (MEPs) serve five-
year terms. Voting for the EP takes place on a national
basis, with the number of MEPs elected in each EU country
based roughly on population size.
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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
almost 200 nationalpoliticalp arties-that span the political
spectrum, as well as anumber of non-attached or
independentMEPs (see Figure 1). Although the majority of
MEPs hail from political parties 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
cooperating in unofficialgrand coalitions. At the same
time, voting blocs may vary on specific pieces of
legislation. The relative size ofthe 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 EPpresidentin 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 rivalthosein the U.S. Congress and surpass
those in mos t national Europeanlegislatures. Each
committee considers legislative proposals put forward by
the European Commis sion that fall within its jurisdiction
and issues a recommendation to the fullEP on whether to
adopt, amend, or reject the proposed legislation. The EP
also may establish temporarycommittees on specific issues
or committees ofinquiry on breaches of EUlaw. The EP
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 Brussels, Belgium.
A Secretariat ofroughly 5,000 nonpartisan civilservants,
based in both Brussels and Luxembourg, provides

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