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Updated November 16, 2022

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 (EU). 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. Since the 2009 Lisbon
Treaty, the EP has become a more important actor on
several issues of U.S. concern, including trade, data
privacy, and counterterrorism. Congress-EP ties are long-
standing, and the EP's potential to influence key aspects of
U.S.-EU relations may be of interest to Congress.
Role and Responsibilities
The EP plays a role in the EU's legislative and budget
processes and has a degree of oversight responsibility. 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 Council of the European Union (or the Council of
Ministers), which represents the interests of the EU's
national governments.
Although the European Commission has the right 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 the EP and the Council of
Ministers must approve a European Commission proposal
for it to become EU law in a process known as the ordinary
legislative procedure or co-decision. The EP must approve
the accession of new EU member states and international
accords (including EU trade agreements) and may issue
nonlegislative resolutions (often used, for example, to
provide opinions on foreign policy issues).
With the Council of Ministers, the EP decides how to
allocate the EU's annual budget (fixed as a percentage of
the EU's combined gross national income). The EP also has
a supervisory role over the European Commission and some
limited oversight over the activities of the Council of
Ministers. The EP monitors EU policies, can conduct
investigations and public 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.

Political Groups
Once elected, MEPs caucus according to political ideology
rather than nationality. A political group must contain at
least 23 MEPs from a minimum of seven EU countries.
Currently, the EP has seven political groups-containing
almost 200 national political parties-that span the political
spectrum, as well as a number of non-attached or
independent MEPs (see Figure 1). Although the majority of
MEPs hail from political parties that support the EU
project, some belong to parties considered to be anti-
establishment and euroskeptic-that is, critical of the EU or
anti-EU to varying degrees. Most euroskeptic 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 of the EP.
Historically, the two largest parties-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 unofficial grand coalitions. At the
same time, voting blocs may vary on specific pieces of
legislation. The relative size of the political groups also
helps to determine EP leadership and committee posts.
E P Leadership, Committees, an d 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. Roberta Metsola, a Maltese MEP from the EPP,
was elected as EP president in January 2022. 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 that fall within its
jurisdiction and recommends to the full EP whether to
adopt, amend, or reject the proposed legislation. The EP
also may establish temporary committees on specific issues
or committees of inquiry on breaches of EU law. The EP
plays a role in the EU's international presence with 44
delegations that maintain parliament-to-parliament relations
throughout the world (including with the U.S. Congress).
Location and Administration
The EP's official seat is in Strasbourg, France (a location,
near Germany, chosen to symbolize postwar reconciliation).
Plenaries typically are held in Strasbourg once per month.
Committee meetings and some part-plenary sessions occur
in Brussels, Belgium. A Secretariat of about 7,000
nonpartisan civil servants and contract staff, based in both
Brussels and Luxembourg, provides administrative and
technical support. MEPs and political groups also have their
own staff assistants. The EP faces some criticism that its

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