European Parliament, 2014-19Proportion of Members in each political groupSize of the political groups

MEPs751

Number of MEPs in each political group as of 1 March 2016.

Share of each political group in the total 751 seats in the Parliament.

The political groups in the current Parliament in order of size are: • Group of the European People’s Party (Christian Democrats) (EPP), • Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the EP (S&D), • European Conservatives and Reformists Group (ECR), • Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE), • Confederal Group of the European United Left–Nordic Green Left (GUE/NGL), • Group of the Greens–European Free Alliance (Greens/EFA), • Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy Group (EFDD), • Europe of Nations and Freedom Group (ENF), and • Non-attached Members (Non-inscrits – NI).

EPP (Group of the European People's Party)

Greens/EFA (The Greens/European Free Alliance)

S&D

ECR (European Conservatives and Reformists)

ALDE (Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe)

GUE/NGL (European United Left/Nordic Green Left)

EFDD (Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy Group)

NI (Non-attached Members)

219 191

71 68

52 50 48 52

(Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament)

European Parliament by political groups

Number of Members in each group

NI

EFDDGreens/EFA

ALDEECR

S&DEPP

GUE/NGL

38455052

7075

190216

15ENF

Total

NI

ENF

EFDD

ECR

EPP

ALDE

Greens/EFA

S&D

GUE/NGL

6.9%

25.4%

6.7%

9.1%

29.2%

9.5%

6.4%

6.9%

Total751 seats

52

191

50

67

220

71

48

52

European Parliament by political groupsProportion and number of seats of Members by group

NI

EFDD

Greens/EFAALDE

ECRS&D

EPP

GUE/NGL 6.9%

25.3%

6.7%9.3%

28.8%

10.0%

6.0%5.1%Total

751 seats 2.0%ENF

This Briefing, published by the European Parliamentary Research Service, is designed to provide key facts and figures about the European Parliament, both today and in previous terms since direct elections were introduced in June 1979.

On the following pages you will find graphics of various kinds which:• detail the composition of the European Parliament now and in the past; • trace the increase in the number of parties represented in the Parliament and show the evolution of

political groups;• chart the rise in the number of women sitting in the Parliament;• explain the electoral systems used in elections to the Parliament across the Member States; • show how turnout in European elections compares with that in national elections; • summarise the activity of the Parliament in the 2009-14 term, and the start of the current term;• present the annual cost of the Parliament compared with other parliaments;• outline the composition of the Parliament’s main governing bodies.

The Briefing is being updated regularly during the 2014-19 parliamentary term to take account of latest developments.

European Parliament: Facts and Figures

EPRS | European Parliamentary Research ServiceAuthor: Giulio SabbatiMembers’ Research ServicePE 573.919

BriefingMarch 2016

Size of political groups in the EP by Member State (as of 1 March 2016)

Finland (FI)

Italy (IT)

Poland (PL)

Sweden (SE)

Bulgaria (BG)

Ireland (IE)

Netherlands (NL)

Spain (ES)

Belgium (BE)

Estonia (EE)

Malta (MT)

Slovenia (SI)

Austria (AT)

Denmark (DK)

Hungary (HU)

Slovakia (SK)

Czech Republic (CZ)

Greece (EL)

Luxembourg (LU)

Cyprus (CY)

Germany (DE)

Lithuania (LT)

Romania (RO)

Croatia (HR)

France (FR)

Latvia (LV)

Portugal (PT)

United Kingdom (UK)

Country codes and flags:

Data supplied by Members’ Administration Unit, European Parliament.

DEFRITUKESPLRONLBECZELHUPTSEATBGDKSKFIIEHRLTLVSIEECYLUMTEU

Italy (IT)

Ireland (IE)

Belgium (BE)

Denmark (DK)

Luxembourg (LU)

Germany (DE)

France (FR)

Netherlands (NL)

United Kingdom (UK)

Sweden (SE)

Spain (ES)

Estonia (EE)

Malta (MT)

Austria (AT)

Greece (GR)

Cyprus (CY)

Latvia (LV)

Finland (FI)

Poland (PL)

Bulgaria (BG)

Slovenia (SL)

Hungary (HU)

Slovakia (SK)

Czech Republic (CZ)

Lithuania (LT)

Romania (RO)

Portugal (PT)

Croatia (HR)

EU

96747373545132262121212121201817131313111111

886666751

Total

Total

100%

0 10 20 30 40

EPP

MT

LU

CY

EE

SI

LV

LT

HR

IE

FI

SK

DK

BG

AT

SE

PT

HU

EL

CZ

BE

NL

RO

PL

ES

UK

IT

FR

DE342015

172312

5475

127457163452451233

216

EPP

EPP

28.8%

0 10 20 30 40

S&D

MT

LU

CY

EE

SI

LV

LT

HR

IE

FI

SK

DK

BG

AT

SE

PT

HU

EL

CZ

BE

NL

RO

PL

ES

UK

IT

FR

DE2713312014

515

344448654342122111213

190

S&D

S&D

25.3%

0 10 20 30 40

ALDE

MT

LU

CY

EE

SI

LV

LT

HR

IE

FI

SK

DK

BG

AT

SE

PT

HU

EL

CZ

BE

NL

RO

PL

ES

UK

IT

FR

DE47

18

3764

23143

4124113

1

70

ALDE

ALDE

9.3%

0 10 20 30 40

ECR

MT

LU

CY

EE

SI

LV

LT

HR

IE

FI

SK

DK

BG

AT

SE

PT

HU

EL

CZ

BE

NL

RO

PL

ES

UK

IT

FR

DE8

221

1912421

24321111

75

ECR

ECR

10.0%

0 10 20 30 40

EFD

MT

LU

CY

EE

SI

LV

LT

HR

IE

FI

SK

DK

BG

AT

SE

PT

HU

EL

CZ

BE

NL

RO

PL

ES

UK

IT

FR

DE

11722

1

1

2

1

45

EFDD

EFDD

6.0%

0 10 20 30 40

NI_OTHER

MT

LU

CY

EE

SI

LV

LT

HR

IE

FI

SK

DK

BG

AT

SE

PT

HU

EL

CZ

BE

NL

RO

PL

ES

UK

IT

FR

DE23

1

1

53

15

NI

NI

2.0%

0 10 20 30 40

GUE/NGL

MT

LU

CY

EE

SI

LV

LT

HR

IE

FI

SK

DK

BG

AT

SE

PT

HU

EL

CZ

BE

NL

RO

PL

ES

UK

IT

FR

DE8431

11

3

36

41

1

14

2

52

GUE/NGL

6.9%

GUE/NGL

0 10 20 30 40

Greens/EFA

MT

LU

CY

EE

SI

LV

LT

HR

IE

FI

SK

DK

BG

AT

SE

PT

HU

EL

CZ

BE

NL

RO

PL

ES

UK

IT

FR

DE136

64

22

2

43

1

1

11111

1

50

Greens/EFA

6.7%

Greens/EFA

380 10 20 30 40

EPP

MT

LU

CY

EE

SI

LV

LT

HR

IE

FI

SK

DK

BG

AT

SE

PT

HU

EL

CZ

BE

NL

RO

PL

ES

UK

IT

FR

DE

2051

2141

4

ENF

ENF

5.1%

Members’ Research Service Page 2 of 12

European Parliament: Facts and FiguresEPRS

Age of MEPs by Member State

The graph shows the average age of MEPs, together with the maximum and minimum age, per Member State. The average age of Members on 1 January 2016 was 53 years, with the oldest member being 87 (from France) and the youngest 27 (a Bulgarian and a Spanish Member).

At the constituent session in July 2014 the average was also 53 years, with the oldest Member 91 (from Greece) and the youngest 26 (from Denmark).

Between July 2014 and January 2016, 33 MEPs were replaced for different reasons. Fourteen MEPs resigned, two died and 17 were appointed to an office incompatible with membership of the European Parliament – for instance they became a member of their national parliament or government.

BGNLDKCZMTROPTBESEHRIEITDEATESHUUKEUCYLTGRLVFIEESISKFRPLLU

272928

3437

3033

3134

4038

2928

3727

3730

2740

3436

393838

4441

343940

0 20 40 60 80 100

Di�erence

Min

LUPLFRSKSI

EEFI

LVGRLT

CYEUGBHUESATDEITIE

HRSEBEPTROMTCZDKNLBG 45

47484949495050505051515152525253535454545455565656565758

67697172

6772

6772

6759

6371

7565

7376

7287

6267

7665

7079

7276

8777

65

Minimum MaximumAverage

New and re-elected MEPs in 2014 (as a percentage share of total MEPs)New MEPs are defined as those who did not sit in the EP either in the previous term or in a preceding one.Overall, of the 751 MEPs, 48.5% were new to the EP in 2014, whilst 51.5% were Members in a previous term. The highest proportion of new MEPs was in Greece (90.5%), whilst the lowest was in Luxembourg (16.7%).

Re-elected MEPs

New MEPs

0,0

0,5

1,0

New

MEP

s

Re-e

lect

ed M

EPs

LUFIDE

HR

ROLVBEUKATLTFRSKDKPLHUEUSIMTPTESNLIESEBGEECZCYITEL

EL IT CY CZ EE BG SE IE NL ES PT MT SI EU HU PL DK SK FR LT AT UK BE LV RO HR DE FI LU

0%

50%

100%

9.5%

32.9

%33

.3%

33.3

%33

.3%

41.2

%45

.0%

45.5

%46

.2%

46.3

%47

.6%

50.0

%50

.0%

51.5

%52

.4%

52.9

%53

.8%

53.8

%54

.1%

54.5

%55

.6%

57.5

%61

.9%

62.5

%62

.5%

63.6

%68

.8%

69.2

%83

.3%

90.5

%67

.1%

66.7

%66

.7%

66.7

%58

.8%

55.0

%54

.5%

53.8

%53

.7%

52.4

%50

.0%

50.0

%48

.5%

47.6

%47

.1%

46.2

%46

.2%

45.9

%45

.5%

44.4

%42

.5%

38.1

%37

.5%

37.5

%36

.4%

31.3

%30

.8%

16.7

%

Members’ Research Service Page 3 of 12

European Parliament: Facts and FiguresEPRS

National parties and political groups in the EPOver the eight terms of the Parliament to date, the successive increases in the number of Member States and MEPs have been outpaced by the growth in the number of national political parties represented in the EP. However, whilst the number of political groups has remained broadly stable, at between seven and ten, the thresholds for forming a group have been raised over time and groups now tend to include Members from a greater number of Member States than in previous terms.

1979

-198

4

1984

-198

9

1989

-199

4

1994

-199

9

1999

-200

4

2004

-200

9

2009

-201

4

1.7.

2014

1.3.

2016

Number of MEPs 410 434 518 567 626 732 736 751 751Number of Member States 9 10 12 12 15 25 27 28 28Number of political groups 7 8 10 9 8 7 7 7 8Number of national political parties 57 67 103 97 127 168 176 191 211Number of national delegations in political groups 37 42 64 58 74 109 116 129 139

European Parliament, 1979-2014Strengths of the political groups in each parliamentary term

The relative size of the political groups in the European Parliament is shown for each of the eight parliamentary terms since the first direct elections in 1979. The data, in percentages of total seats, refer to the constituent session (in July) at the beginning of each parliamentary term. The last column on the right shows the composition of the Parliament as of 1 March 2016.

The colours used to denote political groups in the current parliamentary term are also used in previous terms, so that the history of today’s groups can be traced back. However, it should be understood that the names and con-stitutions of political groups, and indeed their membership, can change frequently. So, whilst we can identify sub-stantial common elements between current groups and their predecessors, they cannot in all cases be regarded as the same group with an unbroken history. The category ‘others’ includes a number of groups which no longer exist.

Source: Directorate-General for Communication, European Parliament

NIEFDDGreens/EFAALDEECRS&DEPP GUE/NGL OthersENF

0,0

0,1

0,2

0,3

0,4

0,5

0,6

0,7

0,8

0,9

0,0

0,1

0,2

0,3

0,4

0,5

0,6

0,7

0,8

0,9 NI

ENL

EFDD

Verts/ALE

GUE/NGL

ADLE

ECR

S&D

PPE

20162009-20142004-20091999-20041994-19991989-19941984-19891979-1984

0,0

0,1

0,2

0,3

0,4

0,5

0,6

0,7

0,8

0,9

1,0

0,0

0,1

0,2

0,3

0,4

0,5

0,6

0,7

0,8

0,9

1,0

NA

TDI

UEN

EDN->I-EDN

ARE

FE

CG

DR

ARC

RDE

CDI

DEP

EFDD

Greens/EFA

GUE/NGL

ALDE

ECR

S&D

EPP

2014-20192009-20142004-20091999-20041994-19991989-19941984-19891979-19841979-1984 1984-1989 1989-1994 1994-1999 1999-2004 2004-2009 2009-2014 1.7.2014

100%

50%

0%

36.0%

25.0%

7.3%

11.4%

4.8%7.5%4.3%3.7%

36.6%

27.3%

12.0%

5.6%5.7%5.1%

4.0%3.7%

37.2%

28.8%

8.0%

6.7%7.7%2.6%

1.4%

4.8%2.9%

27.5%

34.9%

7.8%4.9%4.1%

4.8%

4.6%4.8%3.4%3.4%

23.4%

34.7%

6.6%

9.5%

5.4%

3.9%2.5%3.3%2.7%2.3%

5.8%

25.3%

30.0%

11.5%

7.1%

9.4%

6.7%

4.6%3.7%1.6%

26.3%

27.3%

15.4%

9.8%

10.7%

5.4%2.7%2.4% 100%

50%

0%0,0

0,1

0,2

0,3

0,4

0,5

0,6

0,7

0,8

0,9

0,0

0,1

0,2

0,3

0,4

0,5

0,6

0,7

0,8

0,9 NI

ENL

EFDD

Verts/ALE

GUE/NGL

ADLE

ECR

S&D

PPE

20162009-20142004-20091999-20041994-19991989-19941984-19891979-19841.3.2016

28.8%

25.3%

10.0%

9.3%

6.9%6.7%6.0%5.1%2.0%

0,0

0,1

0,2

0,3

0,4

0,5

0,6

0,7

0,8

0,9

1,0

0,0

0,1

0,2

0,3

0,4

0,5

0,6

0,7

0,8

0,9

1,0

NA

TDI

UEN

EDN->I-EDN

ARE

FE

CG

DR

ARC

RDE

CDI

DEP

EFDD

Greens/EFA

GUE/NGL

ALDE

ECR

S&D

EPP

2014-20192009-20142004-20091999-20041994-19991989-19941984-19891979-1984

0,0

0,1

0,2

0,3

0,4

0,5

0,6

0,7

0,8

0,9

1,0

0,0

0,1

0,2

0,3

0,4

0,5

0,6

0,7

0,8

0,9

1,0

NA

TDI

UEN

EDN->I-EDN

ARE

FE

CG

DR

ARC

RDE

CDI

DEP

EFDD

Greens/EFA

GUE/NGL

ALDE

ECR

S&D

EPP

2014-20192009-20142004-20091999-20041994-19991989-19941984-19891979-1984

29.4%

25.4%

9.3%

8.9%

6.9%6.7%6.4%6.9%

Members’ Research Service Page 4 of 12

European Parliament: Facts and FiguresEPRS

Women MEPs by Member State

The percentage of women MEPs in the current European Parliament varies between 66.7% in Malta and 9.1% in Lithuania. In May 2014, nine Member States had gender quotas, which mostly concern the make-up of electoral lists, with gender proportions applying to both sexes, to avoid the under-representation of either women or men.

MT FI IE EE LV AT SE HR ES NL FR UK DK IT PT SI EU DE LU SK BG BE RO CZ EL PL HU CY LT

6 13 11 6 8 18 20 11 54 26 74 73 13 73 21 8 751 96 6 13 17 21 32 21 21 51 21 6 11

66.7

%

61.5

%

54.5

%

50.0

%

50.0

%

50.0

%

50.0

%

45.5

%

44.4

%

42.3

%

41.9

%

41.1

%

38.5

%

38.4

%

38.1

%

37.5

%

37.0

%

36.5

%

33.3

%

30.8

%

29.4

%

28.6

%

28.1

%

23.8

%

23.8

%

23.5

%

19.0

%

16.7

%

9.1%

Non

e

Non

e

Non

e

Non

e

Non

e

Non

e

Non

e

40%

40%

Non

e

50%

Non

e

Non

e

33%

33%

40%

Non

e

Non

e

Non

e

Non

e

50%

> 0

Non

e

Non

e

35%

Non

e

Non

e

Non

e

Total seats

Percentage of women Members in the EP (1 January 2016)

Gender quotas applicable to EP in the 2014 elections

Proportion of men and women in the EPThe evolution of the proportion of women among all MEPs at the beginning of each parliamentary term shows steady growth, starting at 16.3% in the first term and reaching the highest percentage yet in the current term (36.9%). Changes in the composition of the Parliament since July 2014 have increased the percentage of women slightly, from 36.9% to 37.0%.

0,0

0,2

0,4

0,6

0,8

1,0

Male

Female

2014-20192009-20142004-20091999-20041994-19991989-19941984-19891979-19841979-84 1984-89 1989-94 1994-99 1999-2004 2004-09 2009-14 2014-19

100%

80%

0%

60%

40%

20%16.3%

36.9%

Male

Female

1979-1984

16%

2014-2019

37%

Women in EP and EU national parliamentsComparison of the average representation of women in national parliaments in Member States and in the European Parliament shows that both have increased over time. The line for national parliaments up to 1996 is illustrative only, as it is based on data available for a limited number of Member States. A marked increase in the percentage of women in national parliaments can be seen in the mid-2000s, which is partly a consequence of the introduction of gender quotas for elections in several Member States (France - 2000, Belgium - 2002, Portugal - 2006, Spain - 2007).

0,0

0,1

0,2

0,3

0,4

EU

2016201420092004199919941989198419791979 1984 1989 1994 20142009200419990%

10%

20%

30%

40%European Parliament

Member States’ national parliaments

Members’ Research Service Page 5 of 12

European Parliament: Facts and FiguresEPRS

Annual cost of the EP per inhabitant

The graphic above shows the annual running cost, divided by the number of inhabitants, for the European Parliament, German Bundestag, French Assemblée nationale, UK House of Commons and US House of Representatives, for the (fiscal) year 2011. Caution is inevitably needed in making comparisons between the costs of parliaments, as each has its own history, traditions and organisational form: budget allocations for a given purpose in one parliament may have no parallel in another, while very different levels of resources may be dedicated to apparently similar tasks. The EP budget, for example, includes the costs of translation and interpreting into and out of 24 languages, and of operating in three centres – Brussels, Strasbourg and Luxembourg – whereas other parliaments do not have these dimensions to their work.

USA

UK

FR

DE

EP

Germany

France

UK

USA

EP € 3.10

€ 8.20

€ 8.10

€ 7.30

€ 5.80

Electoral systems for the European ParliamentVoting system and number of MEPs

The EP now has 751 MEPs, a reduction from the pre-vious Parliament (2009-14), in which there were 766 MEPs (754 plus 12 for Croatia, which joined in 2013).

MEPs are elected under national electoral systems, but these have to observe certain common principles established in EU law, notably proportional represen-tation. As a general rule, voters can choose between political parties, individual candidates or both. Whilst in some Member States, voters can only vote for a list, with no possibility of changing the order of candidates (closed list), in others voters can express their prefer-ence for one or more of the candidates (preferential voting). Instead of a list system, some Member States achieve the latter possibility of preferential voting by using the single transferable vote (STV).

Cyprus 6

6Malta

Slovenia 8

Luxembourg 6

Preferen�al vo�ngSTV

Closed lists

96 Number of MEPs

Mul�ple cons�tuencies

74

7354

32

26

21

21

21

21

21

20

18

17

13

13

13

5196

11

1186

3 +11 70

Cyprus

Malta

Slovenia

Luxembourg

Closed listsPreferential votingSTVMultiple constituencies

Number of MEPs

Electoral threshold

****

Thre

shol

d ap

plie

s to

**

**ea

ch c

onst

ituen

cy

5% 4% 3% 1.8% None

* Threshold applies to each constituency

*

5% 4% 3% 1.8% None

EU law allows Member States to establish thresholds of up to 5% of votes cast for the allocation of seats in the European Parliament. In 14 Member States, there are formal thresholds. Even in those Member States without a formally established threshold, there is an ‘effective’ threshold, which can exceed 5%, particu-larly in countries with a small number of seats in Par-liament.

Members’ Research Service Page 6 of 12

European Parliament: Facts and FiguresEPRS

The trend lines for turnout in four different types of election in the period since the first EP direct elections took place in 1979 show that voter turnout has been on a consistently downward path, both within the European Union and in the United States. Indeed, these trends are consistent with a general decline in average turnout at elections in most G20 democracies since 1945 – from around 80% in the immediate post-war period to around 60% today.

The graph above highlights the close relationship between the (downward) paths of turnout in EP elections and (mid-term) US Congressional elections, in both absolute values and trends. The parallel declines in turnout at Mem-ber States’ parliamentary elections and at European Parliament elections demonstrate that voters treat EP elections in the same way as their national elections, but with an average turnout at national elections around 15 to 20% higher. In general, elections in which voters decide who runs the executive branch of government, as well as who controls the legislature, attract a higher turnout than other elections.For reference, turnout in both European Parliament and national parliamentary elections is calculated as the total number of votes as a percentage of the total number of registered voters. All national elections taking place in the same year are totalled to generate an annual EU-wide percentage.

Trends in turnout at national and EP elections

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

0.8

0.9

United Kingdom

Sweden

Spain

Slovenia

Slovakia

Romania

Portugal

Poland

Netherlands

Malta

Luxembourg

Lithuania

Latvia

Italy

Ireland

Hungary

Greece

Germany

France

Finland

Estonia

Denmark

Czech Republic

Cyprus

Croatia

Bulgaria

Belgium

Austria

2009200419991994198919841979 2015

100%90%

80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%1979 1989 1999 20091984 1994 2004 2014

Parliamentary elections in EU Member States

US Congress (Presidential election years)

European Parliament US Congress (mid-terms)

Turnout in European ElectionsTurnout in Member States at EP elections since 1979For each of the eight European Parliament elections held since 1979, the table below shows the lowest turnout among all Member States, the highest in a Member State without compulsory voting, and finally the highest overall. The EU average at each election is highlighted by the line in light blue.

! Compulsory voting in this Member State (Voting was also compulsory in Italy from 1979 to 1989).

1979 1984 1989 1994 1999 2004 2009 2014BE 91.4% 92.1% 90.7% 90.7% 91.0% 90.8% 90.4% 89.6%LU 88.9% 88.8% 87.4% 88.5% 87.3% 91.3% 90.8% 85.5%MT 82.4% 78.8% 74.8%EL 77.2% 79.9% 73.2% 71.5% 63.2% 52.6% 60.0%IT 84.9% 83.4% 81.0% 73.6% 69.8% 71.7% 65.1% 57.2%DK 47.8% 52.4% 46.2% 52.9% 50.4% 47.9% 59.5% 56.3%IE 63.6% 47.6% 68.3% 44.0% 50.2% 58.6% 57.6% 52.4%SE 38.8% 37.9% 45.5% 51.1%DE 65.7% 56.8% 62.3% 60.0% 45.2% % 43.3% 48.1%LT 48.4% 21.0% 47.4%AT 49.0% 42.4% 46.0% 45.4%CY 72.5% 59.4% 44.0%ES 54.6% 59.1% 63.0% 45.1% 44.9% 43.8%EU 61.8% 59.0% 58.3% 56.7% 49.5% 45.6% 43.0% 42.6%FR 60.7% 56.7% 48.7% 52.8% 46.8% 42.8% 40.6% 42.4%FI 30.1% 39.4% 40.5% 41.0%NL 58.1% 50.6% 47.2% 35.7% 30.0% 39.3% 36.8% 37.3%EE 26.8% 43.9% 36.5%BG 38.9% 36.1%UK 32.3% 32.6% 36.2% 36.4% 24.0% 39.2% 34.5% 35.4%PT 51.2% 35.5% 39.9% 38.6% 36.8% 33.7%RO 27.7% 32.4%LV 41.3% 53.7% 30.2%HU 38.5% 36.3% 29.0%HR 25.2%SI 28.4% 28.3% 24.5%PL 20.9% 24.5% 23.8%CZ 28.3% 28.2% 18.2%SK 17.0% 19.6% 13.0% Slovakia (SK)

Italy (IT)

Sweden (SE)

Ireland (IE)

Spain (ES)

Belgium (BE)

Estonia (EE)

Malta (MT)

Austria (AT)

Denmark (DK)

Greece (GR)

Luxembourg (LU)

Cyprus (CY)

Germany (DE)

France (FR)

Latvia (LV)

Finland (FI)

Poland (PL)

Bulgaria (BG)

Netherlands (NL)

Slovenia (SL)

Hungary (HU)

Czech Republic (CZ)

Lithuania (LT)

Romania (RO)

Portugal (PT)

United Kingdom (UK)

EU

Croatia

!

!

!

!

Lowest turnout

Highest turnout without compulsory voting

Highest turnout with compulsory voting

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Activity in EP plenary sessions in the eighth term so far (July 2014 - December 2015)

Working with partners and citizens

The European Parliament has regular meetings with counterparts from the Member States’ national parliaments, in particular at committee level. The Parliament’s committees also regularly seek direct input from experts and stakeholders in public hearings, to aid their deliberations on a specific topic. Citizens also have various means to make contact with the Parliament, either by visiting the institution, raising questions informally with the Citizens’ Enquiries (Ask EP) service, or delivering a petition for consideration by the Petitions Committee. The figures below give a flavour of these activites in the eighth term so far, from July 2014 to December 2015.

Texts2 790

Texts adopted

1 071

Legislative acts

of which

Votes23 553

Written questions tabled

58 840?

Amendments adopted21 298

Amendments rejected22 692

Plenary sitting days

260Days

Hours of sittings

12

9

6

32 160Hours

Texts585

Texts adopted

176

Legislative acts

of which

Votes7 584

Written questions tabled

21 836?

Amendments adopted2 170

Amendments rejected1 902

Plenary sitting days

84Days

Hours of sittings

12

9

6

3698Hours

Follow-up letters (sent by the Petitions Committee)

Meetings with national parliaments27

6 855

Petitions received from citizens2 635

Citizens’ visits to the EP392 327Public hearings by EP

Committees189

Citizens’ questionsanswered by ‘Ask EP’84 540

Source: Plenary Organisation and Follow-up Unit, Directorate-General for the Presidency, European Parliament.

The work of the European ParliamentThe European Parliament adopts its positions by voting in plenary session on legislative and budgetary texts, as well as on own-initiative reports and other resolutions. The Parliament’s 20 standing committees prepare the ground, undertaking detailed consideration of draft legislation and holding public hearings on key issues. In the course of the legislative process, representatives of EP committees meet frequently with their counterparts in the Council of Ministers and the European Commission, in trilateral negotiations (trilogues).

Activity in EP plenary sessions over the five years of the seventh term (July 2009 - June 2014)

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European Parliament legislative activity, 2004-2015A core element in the work of the European Parliament lies in amending and passing EU legislation. Three procedures are used, with the most common now being the ‘ordinary legislative procedure’ (traditionally referred to as ‘co-decision’). The Parliament may also be required to give (or withhold) its consent to certain Council decisions, or may simply be consulted on certain Commission proposals. Under co-decision and consent, the EP has a right of veto over EU legal acts. The two charts below together show the rise in the use of co-decision, reflecting greater EP power from successive Treaty changes, and the growing trend for the EP and Council to agree on legislative texts at the first reading of that process.

The chart below shows all legislative resolutions adopted in plenary each year since 2004, including at all readings for co-decision.

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35

Conciliation

CSL second reading agreement

Early second reading agreement

First reading agreement

Conciliation

Council 2nd reading

EP 2nd reading

1st reading 17 months

32 months

33 months

30 months

Duration Number of procedures

8

30

40

448

ConciliationCSL second reading agreem

entEarly second reading agreem

entFirst reading agreem

ent

Number and average length of co-decision proceduresThe chart below shows the average duration in months of each completed ordinary legislative procedure (co-decision files), and the stage at which it was concluded in the last (seventh) parliamentary term (2009-14). The circles, in proportion, show the numbers of files concluded at each stage of the procedure.

The chart below shows the stage of the co-decision procedure at which the EP and Council reached agreement on individual legislative texts, in each year since 2004.

Council 2nd reading

EP 2nd reading

1st reading

Conciliation

Legislative procedures:

Consultation

Consent

Co-decision0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

Cooperation

Consultation

Consent

Codecision

201520142013201220112010200920082007200620052004

Cooperation

Codecision

Consent

Consultation

112

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

350

300

200

250

150

100

50

0

12

163

122

24

113

117

13

158

147

9

152

170

10

110

105

6

89

94

2338

113

58

36

105

3922

164

39

41

199

4133

75

39

40

0

50

100

150

200

Cooperation

Consultation

Consent

Codecision

201520142013201220112010200920082007200620052004

Conciliation

CSL 2

EP 2

EP 1

41

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

200

150

100

50

034

5358

103

34

52

98

124122

152

44

5661

77

60

70104

116 137

148

40

58

92

Source: Legislative Planning and Coordination Unit, Office of the Deputy Secretary-General, European Parliament.

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Source: Legislative Coordination Unit, Directorate-General for Internal Policies, European Parliament.

Number of trilogues per year and per committeeDuring the seventh term (2009-14), the EP participated in 1 557 trilogue meetings on legislative texts with the Council of Ministers and European Commission. In the eighth term so far (from November 2014 to December 2015), the number of trilogue meetings has been 284. The bar graph below shows the number of trilogues held by year since the beginning of the seventh term, with a peak in 2013, which coincided with the key decisions on programmes within the 2014-20 Multiannual Financial Framework. The pie chart shows which parliamentary committees were most involved in trilogues in 2015, the first full year of the 2014-19 term. It highlights the five most active committees in terms of trilogues held, as a percentage of the total. (The category ‘others’ includes 13 trilogue meetings with delegations from the ECON and BUDG (10), and CONT and LIBE (3), Committees acting jointly under Rule 55).

Number of legislative and own-initiative reports

258220

356182

417467

282361

401298

145204

225209

96239

91114122

313

The chart below shows the number of reports adopted in each of the parliamentary committees between 1 July 2014 and 31 December 2015. Legislative reports are represented by blue bars and own-initiative reports by light orange bars. ‘Other reports’, represented by dark orange bars, relate primarily to work under specific procedures in individual committees. Seven joint reports were adopted (under Rule 55) and these are counted under both the committees concerned.

BUDG

AFCO

CONT

AGRI

PETI

IMCO

PECH

LIBE

INTA

ENVI

CULT

TRAN

ITRE

JURI

FEMM

DEVE

REGI

ECON

EMPL

AFETAFETEMPLECONREGIDEVEFEMMJURIITRETRANCULTENVIINTALIBEPECHIMCOPETIAGRICONTAFCOBUDG

1898

66655554433332221

129

2621

446

2

2015

3814

5

51

6

7

1

3

19

543

192

Legislative reportsOwn-initiative reports Other reports

LIBE: 56

ECON: 28

EMPL: 23

ENVI: 23

AGRI: 22

Others: 77

Others

AGRI

ENVI

EMPL

ECON

LIBE

Trilogue meetings:

229

24.5%

12.2%

10.0%

10.0%

9.6%

33.6%

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

20152014201320122011201020092009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

0

200

400

600

800

15 95

249

371

695

132

2015

55 229

8th term

7th term

AFCO: Constitutional AffairsAFET: Foreign AffairsAGRI: Agriculture and Rural DevelopmentBUDG: BudgetsCONT: Budgetary ControlCULT: Culture and EducationDEVE: DevelopmentDROI: Human RightsECON: Economic and Monetary AffairsEMPL: Employment and Social AffairsENVI: Environment, Public Health and Food SafetyFEMM: Women's Rights and Gender EqualityIMCO: Internal Market and Consumer ProtectionINTA: International TradeITRE: Industry, Research and EnergyJURI: Legal AffairsLIBE: Civil Liberties, Justice and Home AffairsPECH: FisheriesPETI: PetitionsREGI: Regional DevelopmentSEDE: Security and DefenceTRAN: Transport and Tourism

Committee names and abbreviations

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EP Bureau

Martin SCHULZ President S&D

Antonio TAJANI Vice-President EPPMairead McGUINNESS Vice-President EPPRainer WIELAND Vice-President EPPRamón Luis VALCÁRCEL Vice-President EPPIldikó GÁLL-PELCZ Vice-President EPPAdina-Ioana VĂLEAN Vice-President EPPSylvie GUILLAUME Vice-President S&DIoan Mircea PAŞCU Vice-President S&DDavid-Maria SASSOLI Vice-President S&DAnneli JÄÄTTEENMÄKI Vice-President ALDEAlexander Graf LAMBSDORFF Vice-President ALDEUlrike LUNACEK Vice-President GREENS/EFADimitrios PAPADIMOULIS Vice-President GUE/NGL Ryszard CZARNECKI Vice-President ECR

Elisabeth MORIN-CHARTIER Quaestor EPPBogusław LIBERADZKI Quaestor S&DCatherine BEARDER Quaestor ALDEAndrey KOVATCHEV Quaestor EPPKarol KARSKI Quaestor ECR

Germany (DE)

Italy (IT)

Ireland (IE)

Germany (DE)

Spain (ES)

Hungary (HU)

Romania (RO)

France (FR)

Romania (RO)

Italy (IT)

Finland (FI)

Germany (DE)

Austria (AT)

Greece (GR)

Poland (PL)

France (FR)

United Kingdom (UK)

Bulgaria (BG)

Poland (PL)

Poland (PL)

President1

Vice-Presidents14

Quaestors(non-voting)

5

The Bureau is the body responsible for financial, organisational and administrative matters within the Parliament. It is composed of the President and the 14 Vice-Presidents, elected by an absolute majority of the votes in plenary, with the order in which they attained that majority determining their order of precedence. The five Quaestors, elected in plenary to manage administrative and financial matters directly concerning Members, also attend the Bureau in an advisory capacity, but cannot vote.

The Bureau, the Conference of Presidents and the Conference of Committee Chairs, presented below, are complemented by other governing and coordination bodies within the Parliament, including the Conference of Delegation Chairs, the STOA Panel and the Democracy Support and Election Coordination Group.

EP Conference of PresidentsThe Conference of Presidents (CoP) is composed of Parliament’s President and the chairs of the eight political groups. It sets the agenda of the plenary and determines the general political orientations of the institution. The table below shows the current members of the CoP. It is ordered by size of the groups, in terms of their seats in Parliament. Three groups have co-chairs. The non-attached (NI) Members are represented by a non-voting observer.

President of the EP: Martin SCHULZS&D

Ger

man

y (D

E)

Ger

man

y (D

E)

Ital

y (IT

)

Uni

ted

Kin

gd

om (U

K)

Belg

ium

(BE)

Ger

man

y (D

E)

Ger

man

y (D

E)

Belg

ium

(BE)

Uni

ted

Kin

gd

om (U

K)

Ital

y (IT

)

Uni

ted

Kin

gd

om (U

K)

Chair Chair Chair Chair Chair Co-chairs Observer

Ger

man

y (D

E)

Ger

man

y (D

E)

Ital

y (IT

)

Uni

ted

Kin

gd

om (U

K)

Belg

ium

(BE)

Ger

man

y (D

E)

Ger

man

y (D

E)

Belg

ium

(BE)

Uni

ted

Kin

gd

om (U

K)

Ital

y (IT

)

Uni

ted

Kin

gd

om (U

K)

Ger

man

y (D

E)

Ger

man

y (D

E)

Ital

y (IT

)

Uni

ted

Kin

gd

om (U

K)

Belg

ium

(BE)

Ger

man

y (D

E)

Ger

man

y (D

E)

Belg

ium

(BE)

Uni

ted

Kin

gd

om (U

K)

Ital

y (IT

)

Uni

ted

Kin

gd

om (U

K)

Ger

man

y (D

E)

Ger

man

y (D

E)

Ital

y (IT

)

Uni

ted

Kin

gd

om (U

K)

Belg

ium

(BE)

Ger

man

y (D

E)

Ger

man

y (D

E)

Belg

ium

(BE)

Uni

ted

Kin

gd

om (U

K)

Ital

y (IT

)

Uni

ted

Kin

gd

om (U

K)

Ger

man

y (D

E)

Ger

man

y (D

E)

Ital

y (IT

)

Uni

ted

Kin

gd

om (U

K)

Belg

ium

(BE)

Ger

man

y (D

E)

Ger

man

y (D

E)

Belg

ium

(BE)

Uni

ted

Kin

gd

om (U

K)

Ital

y (IT

)

Uni

ted

Kin

gd

om (U

K)

Ger

man

y (D

E)

Ger

man

y (D

E)

Ital

y (IT

)

Uni

ted

Kin

gd

om (U

K)

Belg

ium

(BE)

Ger

man

y (D

E)

Ger

man

y (D

E)

Belg

ium

(BE)

Uni

ted

Kin

gd

om (U

K)

Ital

y (IT

)

Uni

ted

Kin

gd

om (U

K)

Ger

man

y (D

E)

Ger

man

y (D

E)

Ital

y (IT

)

Uni

ted

Kin

gd

om (U

K)

Belg

ium

(BE)

Ger

man

y (D

E)

Ger

man

y (D

E)

Belg

ium

(BE)

Uni

ted

Kin

gd

om (U

K)

Ital

y (IT

)

Uni

ted

Kin

gd

om (U

K)

Ger

man

y (D

E)

Ger

man

y (D

E)

Ital

y (IT

)

Uni

ted

Kin

gd

om (U

K)

Belg

ium

(BE)

Ger

man

y (D

E)

Ger

man

y (D

E)

Belg

ium

(BE)

Uni

ted

Kin

gd

om (U

K)

Ital

y (IT

)

Uni

ted

Kin

gd

om (U

K)

Ger

man

y (D

E)

Ger

man

y (D

E)

Ital

y (IT

)

Uni

ted

Kin

gd

om (U

K)

Belg

ium

(BE)

Ger

man

y (D

E)

Ger

man

y (D

E)

Belg

ium

(BE)

Uni

ted

Kin

gd

om (U

K)

Ital

y (IT

)

Uni

ted

Kin

gd

om (U

K)

Manfred WEBER

Gianni PITTELLA

Syed KAMALL

Guy VERHOFSTADT

Gabriele ZIMMER

Rebecca HARMS

Philippe LAMBERTS

Co-Chairs

Ger

man

y (D

E)

Ger

man

y (D

E)

Ital

y (IT

)

Uni

ted

Kin

gd

om (U

K)

Belg

ium

(BE)

Ger

man

y (D

E)

Ger

man

y (D

E)

Belg

ium

(BE)

Uni

ted

Kin

gd

om (U

K)

Ital

y (IT

)

Uni

ted

Kin

gd

om (U

K)

Ger

man

y (D

E)

Ger

man

y (D

E)

Ital

y (IT

)

Uni

ted

Kin

gd

om (U

K)

Belg

ium

(BE)

Ger

man

y (D

E)

Ger

man

y (D

E)

Belg

ium

(BE)

Uni

ted

Kin

gd

om (U

K)

Ital

y (IT

)

Uni

ted

Kin

gd

om (U

K)

Nigel FARAGE

David BORRELLI

Diane DODDS

NIENFEFDDGreens/EFAGUE/NGLALDEECRS&DEPP

GREENS/EFA

EPP S&D ECR ALDEGUE/NGL EFDD NIENF

Co-ChairsMarineLE PEN

Marcelde GRAAFF

France (FR)

Netherlands (NL)

France (FR)

Netherlands (NL)

Main governing bodies in the EP

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European Parliament: Facts and FiguresEPRS

GUE/NGL

GREENS/EFA

ECR

ALDE

S&D

EPP

20 40%

30%

15%

5%5% 5%

Share of committee chairs by political group

Parliamentary committees

Number of MEPs Name of Chair

PECHJURI

AFCODEVECONTCULTPETI

FEMMIMCOINTA

BUDGREGIAGRI

TRANEMPL

LIBEECON

ITREENVIDROISEDEAFETAFET

SEDEDROI

ENVIITREECONLIBEEMPLTRANAGRIREGIBUDGINTAIMCOFEMMPETICULTCONTDEVEAFCOJURIPECH

EPPECRS&DEPPEPPS&DS&DGUE/NGL GREENS/EFAEPPALDEALDES&DECRS&DALDES&DEPPS&DEPPEPPEPP

713030

6966

6160

5549

4543

4141

403534

3130

27252525

Elmar BROKAnna Elżbieta FOTYGAElena VALENCIANO Giovanni LA VIAJerzy BUZEKRoberto GUALTIERIClaude MORAESThomas HÄNDELMichael CRAMERCzesław Adam SIEKIERSKIIskra MIHAYLOVAJean ARTHUISBernd LANGEVicky FORDIratxe GARCÍA PÉREZCecilia WIKSTRÖMSilvia COSTAIngeborg GRÄSSLELinda McAVANDanuta Maria HÜBNERPavel SVOBODAAlain CADEC

Germany (DE)

Italy (IT)

Sweden (SE)

Spain (ES)

Poland (PL)

Czech Republic (CZ)

United Kingdom (UK)

Italy (IT)

Poland (PL)

Bulgaria (BG)

United Kingdom (UK)

Italy (IT)

United Kingdom (UK)

Germany (DE)

Germany (DE)

Germany (DE)

Spain (ES)

Poland (PL)

Poland (PL)

France (FR)

France (FR)

Germany (DE)

There are 20 standing committees (and two sub-committees) in the EP, each covering a different policy area. They draw up reports for consideration in the plenary – on both legislative and non-legislative matters – and hold the executive to account. The chart below shows the committees of the EP, ordered by the number of MEPs who sit on them. It shows the chairs, elected by the members of each committee, together with their political group and nationality. The chairs of the committees meet together in the Conference of Committee Chairs, and have elected Jerzy Buzek, Chair of the Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) Committee, as their president. The pie chart shows the distribution of committee chairs between the political groups, using the same colour code as before. The abbreviations of the various committees’ names are given on page 10.

Previous editions of this Briefing were issued in April 2015 (PE 545.725) and November 2014 (PE 542.150). The data used are taken from a range of sources within and outside the European Parliament, including: the Office of the Secretary-General; Legislative Planning and Coordination Unit in the Office of the Deputy Secretary-General; Directorate for Relations with National Parliaments and the Members’ Activities, Members’ Administration and Plenary Organisation and Follow-Up Units of DG Presidency (PRES); Legislative Coordination Unit and Petitions Committee secretariat in DG Internal Policies (IPOL); Public Opinion Monitoring, and Visits and Seminars Units of DG Communication (COMM); the Citizens’ Enquiries Unit of DG EPRS; and the IDEA database of election statistics.

Disclaimer and Copyright. The content of this document is the sole responsibility of the author and any opinions expressed therein do not necessarily rep-resent the official position of the European Parliament. It is addressed to the Members and staff of the EP for their parliamentary work. Reproduction and translation for non-commercial purposes are authorised, provided the source is acknowledged and the European Parliament is given prior notice and sent a copy. © European Union, 2016.

eprs@ep.europa.eu – http://www.eprs.ep.parl.union.eu (intranet) – http://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank (internet) – http://epthinktank.eu (blog)

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