European Parliament, 2019-24Proportion of Members in each political groupSize of the political groups

MEPs748

Number of MEPs in each political group as of 1 October 2019.

Share by political group of the total 748 Members in the Parliament.

The seven 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 European Parliament (S&D), • Renew Europe Group, • Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance (Greens/EFA), • Identity and Democracy Group (ID), • European Conservatives and Reformists Group (ECR),• Confederal Group of the European United Left – Nordic Green Left (GUE/NGL).In addition, some MEPs sit as non-attached Members (Non-inscrits – NI).

NIGUE/NGL

ECRIDGreens/EFA

RenewEurope

S&DEPP

182154

10874 73 62

41 54

GUE/NGL: 5.5%

S&D: 20.6%

Greens/EFA: 9.9%

Renew Europe: 14.4% EPP: 24.3%

ECR: 8.3%

ID: 9.8%

NI: 7.2%

Note: The Spanish authorities have not yet noti�ed the Parliament of the Members elected to three seats; therefore the total does not reach the 751 provid-ed for in EU law.

748MEPs *

This Briefing, published by the European Parliamentary Research Service, is designed to provide key facts and figures about the European Parliament, both in the 2019 to 2024 parliamentary term now starting - and in the eight 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 EP and evolution of political groups;• chart the rise in the number of women sitting in the Parliament;• explain the electoral systems used in the 2019 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 current and previous five-year terms; • outline the composition of the Parliament’s committees and governing bodies.

The Briefing will be updated regularly over the coming term to take account of latest developments.

European Parliament: Facts and Figures

EPRS | European Parliamentary Research Service

Author: Giulio Sabbati Members’ Research Service

PE 640.146

BRIEFINGOctober 2019

Size of political groups in the EP by Member State (as of 1 October 2019)

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)

Czechia (CZ)

Greece (EL)

Luxembourg (LU)Cyprus (CY)

Germany (DE)

Lithuania (LT)

Romania (RO)

Croatia (HR)

Finland (FI)

France (FR)

Latvia (LV)

Portugal (PT)

United Kingdom (UK)

Country codes and flags:

Data supplied by Members’ Administration Unit, DG Presidency, 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

96747373

* 515132262121212121201817131313111111

886666748

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

DE2987

121714

6458

13767714344424

222

182

EPP

EPP24.3%

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

DE165

191020

810

63

259555332

32222214

154

S&D

S&D

20.6%

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

DE1

1430

41

2

2

54

NI

NI

7.2%

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

DE66

16

1116

41

1

14

2

41

GUE/NGL

5.5%

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

DE2512

112

333

122

2

22

21

1

74

Greens/EFA

9.9%

Greens/EFA

730 10 20 30 40

ID

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

DE112228

32

3

1

2

1

ID

ID

9.8%

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

DE721

178

8646

2

313523112123

2

108

Renew Europe

Renew Europe14.4%

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

DE1

543

26

4341

3

2

2

112

62

ECR

ECR

8.3%* ES: The Spanish authorities have not yet notified Parliament of the Members elected to

three seats, therefore the total does not reach the 751 provided for in EU law.

2

EPRS | European Parliamentary Research Service

Age of MEPsThe graphs below and to the right show the average age of MEPs, together with their highest and lowest ages, both collectively and by Member State. The average age of MEPs is 50 years; national averages vary between 44 and 60. The youngest MEP is from Denmark (21 years old) and the oldest is from Italy (82 years old).

MT 29 44 71

SE 32 45 58

BG 31 46 67

HU 30 46 66

CZ 26 46 66

NL 29 46 66

DK 21 47 74

AT 27 47 61

HR 29 48 62

EE 28 48 62

SK 34 49 65

PT 28 49 67

DE 26 49 78

RO 33 49 67

IT 30 49 82

FR 23 50 72

SI 30 50 60

ES 25 50 75

EL 26 51 67

BE 34 52 68

LU 35 52 67

UK 28 53 77

IE 32 54 69

FI 40 55 74

PL 34 56 79

LV 43 57 69

CY 50 55 59

LT 54 60 65

Lowest Average Highest

21 50 82

Lowest Average Highest

29

132

215 227

126

181

81-9071-8061-7051-6041-5031-4021-30

Over the 2014-19 term, a total of 112 MEPs were replaced for different reasons. Forty-one MEPs resigned, seven died, and 60 were appointed to an office incompatible with membership of the European Parliament – for instance, they became members of their national parliaments or governments.

Age distribution of MEPsThe graph below represents the age distribution of the MEPs. It shows, for instance, that 215 MEPs are aged between 41 and 50 years. The mode - the most common value - is 56 years and the median - the middle value - is, like the average, 50 years. The majority of MEPs are aged between 41 and 60 years old.

New and re-elected MEPs in 2019

New MEPs are defined as those who have never sat in the European Parliament before. They represent 58% of the total. The percentage varies between 85% in Slovakia - where 11 of 13 MEPs are new - and 33% in Malta (2 of 6). Among the political groups, a new group, Identity and Democracy (ID), has the highest percentage of new MEPs, with 59 new MEPs out of 73.

295 16437

New MEPs who have never sat in the European Parliament.Re-elected MEPs who were in the EP during at least the previous term (2014-19).Re-elected MEPs who were in the EP during a previous term, but not during the 2014-19 term.

New MEPs Re-elected MEPs58.4% 39.4% 2.1%

SK SE FR RO AT

DK

UK IE PL ES EU PT IT HR LT BE CZ EL DE CY EE LU LV BG FI NL

HU SI MT

85%

80%

69%

69%

67%

67%

66%

64%

61%

59%

58%

57%

56%

55%

55%

52%

52%

52%

52%

50%

50%

50%

50%

47%

46%

44%

38%

38%

33%

EPPS&DECRGUE/NGL

RenewEurope

Greens/EFA NIID

81% 72%69% 69% 59% 58% 51% 41%

Share of new MEPs by Member State Share of new MEPs by political group

3

European Parliament: Facts and Figures

National parties and political groups in the EPOver the nine 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. Whilst the number of political groups has fluctuated between seven and ten – it is currently seven – the threshold for forming a group has been raised over time, and groups have included Members from a greater number of parties from a greater number of Member States - 203 national political parties today, compared with 127 in 1999, and 57 in 1979.

1979

-198

4

1984

-198

9

1989

-199

4

1994

-199

9

1999

-200

4

2004

-200

9

2009

-201

4

2014

-201

9

2019

-202

4

Number of MEPs 410 434 518 567 626 732 736 751 748*

Number of Member States 9 10 12 12 15 25 27 28 28Number of political groups 7 8 10 9 8 7 7 7 7Number of national political parties 57 67 103 97 127 168 176 191 203Number of national delegations in political groups 37 42 64 58 74 109 116 129 128

* ES: The Spanish authorities have not yet notified the Parliament of the Members elected to three seats; therefore the total does not reach the 751 provided for in EU law.

Data refer to constituent session

European Parliament, 1979-2019Strengths of the political groups in each parliamentary termThe relative size of the political groups in the European Parliament is shown for each of the nine 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 colours used to denote political groups in the current parliamentary term are also used retrospectively for previous terms, so that the history of today’s groups can be traced back. However, it should be understood that the names and constitutions of political groups, and indeed their membership, can change frequently. So, whilst we can often identify substantial continuity between the 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: DG Communication, European Parliament

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

GUE/NGL

ECR

EFDD

Greens/EFA

ALDE

S&D

EPP

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%

50%

0%

36.0%

25.0%

7.3%

11.4%

4.8%

7.5%4.3%

3.7%

36.6%

27.3%

12.0%

5.7%5.1%5.6%

4.0%3.7%

37.2%

28.8%

8.0%

7.7%2.6%6.7%

1.4%

4.8%2.9%

27.5%

34.9%

7.8%

4.1%4.9%

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

1,0

0,0

0,1

0,2

0,3

0,4

0,5

0,6

0,7

0,8

0,9

1,0

NI

GUE/NGL

ECR

ID

Greens/EFA

Renew Europe

S&D

EPP2019-20242009-20142004-20091999-20041994-19991989-19941984-19891979-1984

01.07.2019

24.3%

20.6%

8.3%

14.4%

5.5%

9.9%

9.8%

7.2%

29.4%

25.4%

9.3%

8.9%

6.9%

6.7%

6.4%

6.9%

Renew Europe ECRS&DEPP NIIDGreens/EFA GUE/NGL Others

4

EPRS | European Parliamentary Research Service

Women MEPs by Member State

The percentage of women MEPs in the current European Parliament varies between zero in Cyprus and 55% in Sweden. In the May 2019 elections, eleven Member States had gender quotas, which mostly concern the make-up of electoral lists, applying to both sexes, to avoid the under-representation of either.

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

20 13 18 74 6 8 6 26 8 21 51 73 13 11 73 748 21 21 96 11 51 21 6 17 11 21 32 13 6

55.0

%

53.8

%

50.0

%

50.0

%

50.0

%

50.0

%

50.0

%

50.0

%

50.0

%

47.

6%

47.

1%

46.

6%

46.

2%

45.

5%

41.

1%

40

.6%

38.1

%

38.1

%

36.5

%

36.4

%

35.3

%

33.3

%

33.3

%

29.4

%

27.3

%

23.8

%

21.9

%

15.4

%

0.0

%

Non

e

Non

e

Non

e

50%

50%

Non

e

Non

e

Non

e

40%

33%

40%

Non

e

Non

e

Non

e

50%

50%

Non

e

Non

e

40%

35%

Non

e

Non

e

Non

e

Non

e

40%

> 0

Non

e

Non

e

Total seats

Percentage of women Members in the EP (18 September 2019)

Gender quotas applicable in the 2019 EP 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, at 40.6%.

1979-84

16.3%

2019-24

40.6%

Women in the EP and EU national parliamentsComparison between 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, 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 (for example, France - 2000, Belgium - 2002, Portugal - 2006, Spain - 2007).

0,0

0,1

0,2

0,3

0,4

EU

2019201420092004199919941989198419791979 1989 200919990%

10%

20%

30%

40%European Parliament

Member States’ national parliaments

2019

40.6%

28.6%

0,0

0,2

0,4

0,6

0,8

1,0

Male

Female

2019-20242014-20192009-20142004-20091999-20041994-19991989-19941984-19891979-19841979 1984 1989 1994 1999 2004 2009 2014

16.3%40.6%

Male

Female

2019

5

European Parliament: Facts and Figures

Electoral systems for the European ParliamentVoting system and number of MEPsThe EP currently has 751 seats, as in the 2014-19 term, the maximum possible under the EU Treaties. Assuming the United Kingdom leaves the EU, the number of seats will fall to 705. Of the 73 seats vacated by Members elected in the UK, 27 will be redistributed among 14 Member States. Those 14 countries were to make provision at the 2019 elections for filling those seats once Brexit takes place. The remaining 46 seats would be available for potential EU enlargements and/or for the possible creation of a transnational constituency in future European elections.

MEPs are elected under national electoral systems, but these have to observe certain common principles established in EU law, notably proportional representation. 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 preference for one or more of the candidates (preferential voting). Instead of a list system, some Member States offer preferential voting by using the single transferable vote (STV).

Electoral threshold

=+5+3+5+1+1+3=====+1+1=+1+1+1+2+1===+1===

DEFRITESPLRONLBECZELHUPTSEATBGDKSKFIIEHRLTLVSIEECYLUMT

967976

5952

33292121212121211917141414131211887666

=+5+3+5+1+1+3=====+1+1=+1+1+1+2+1===+1===

DEFRITESPLRONLBECZELHUPTSEATBGDKSKFIIEHRLTLVSIEECYLUMT

967976

5952

33292121212121211917141414131211887666

Change from

current situation

Number of MEPs

7512019

705Total

Voting system

Preferential votingClosed listsSTV (Single Transferable Vote)

Multiple constituencies

Number of MEPs and voting system Seats after Brexit

74

7354

32

2621

21

21

21

21

20

18

17

13

13

13

5196

11

1186

3 +11 70

Cyprus 6Malta 6Slovenia 8Luxembourg 6

4%ITSE

AT

3%EL

1.8%CY

5% None

Electoral threshold

HR

CZFR

LV

HUPLROSK

LT

BGDKDEEE

NL

PT

LUMT

ESIE

FISI

UK

BE

EU law allows Member States to establish a threshold of votes to be achieved before a party/list can be allocated seats at EP elections. At national level, this threshold may not exceed five per cent of the valid votes cast.

Number of MEPs and voting system EP seats after Brexit=+5+3+5+1+1+3=====+1+1=+1+1+1+2+1===+1===

DEFRITESPLRONLBECZELHUPTSEATBGDKSKFIIEHRLTLVSIEECYLUMT

967976

5952

33292121212121211917141414131211887666

=+5+3+5+1+1+3=====+1+1=+1+1+1+2+1===+1===

DEFRITESPLRONLBECZELHUPTSEATBGDKSKFIIEHRLTLVSIEECYLUMT

967976

5952

33292121212121211917141414131211887666

Change from

current situation

Number of MEPs

7512019

705Total

Voting system

Preferential votingClosed listsSTV (Single Transferable Vote)

Multiple constituencies

Number of MEPs and voting system Seats after Brexit

74

7354

32

2621

21

21

21

21

20

18

17

13

13

13

5196

11

1186

3 +11 70

Cyprus 6Malta 6Slovenia 8Luxembourg 6

Thresholds applied in 2019 elections6

EPRS | European Parliamentary Research Service

The chart below shows the trajectory of turnout at the nine European Parliament elections held to date, tracking both individual Member States (grey dots) and the total for the EU as a whole (blue dots/line). Successive elections saw turnout fall until 2019. The most recent election resulted in an 8.3 percentage point increase in turnout, which at 50.6 per cent, represented the first time since 1994 that more than half the adult population had turned out to vote. A similar downward trend over time is seen in the US mid-term elections, where the presidency is not at stake, again with a sharp upturn in the most recent (2018) election. Such a downward trend can also be observed in national elections over the same period, although from a higher baseline, given that governments are also being elected in such contests.

SK

CZ

SI

HR

PT

BG

LV

UK

EE

FI

NL

HU

CY

PL

IE

FR

EU

RO

LT

IT

SE

EL

AT

ES

DE

DK

MT

LU

BE

EU

201920142009200419991994198919841979

100%

75%

50%

25%

0%

61.8%

49.5%

50.6% Turnout at EP elections (EU overall)

Turnout at EP elections by Member State

Slovakia (SK)

Italy (IT)

Sweden (SE)

Ireland (IE)

Spain (ES)

Belgium (BE)

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 (HR)

Estonia (EE)

Turnout in European electionsTurnout in Member States at EP elections since 1979For each of the nine European Parliament elections held since 1979, the table below shows the lowest turnout among all Member States, the highest turnout in a Member State without compulsory voting, and finally the highest turnout 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).

!

!

!

!

!

Lowest turnout

Highest turnout without compulsory voting

Highest turnout with compulsory voting

1979 1984 1989 1994 1999 2004 2009 2014 2019BE 91.4% 92.1% 90.7% 90.7% 91.0% 90.8% 90.4% 89.6% 88.5%LU 88.9% 88.8% 87.4% 88.5% 87.3% 91.3% 90.8% 85.5% 84.2%MT 82.4% 78.8% 74.8% 72.7%DK 47.8% 52.4% 46.2% 52.9% 50.4% 47.9% 59.5% 56.3% 66.0%DE 65.7% 56.8% 62.3% 60.0% 45.2% 43.0% 43.3% 48.1% 61.4%ES 54.6% 59.1% 63.0% 45.1% 44.9% 43.8% 60.7%AT 49.0% 42.4% 46.0% 45.4% 59.8%EL 77.2% 79.9% 73.2% 71.5% 63.2% 52.6% 60.0% 58.7%SE 38.8% 37.9% 45.5% 51.1% 55.3%IT 84.9% 83.4% 81.0% 73.6% 69.8% 71.7% 65.1% 57.2% 54.5%LT 48.4% 21.0% 47.4% 53.5%RO 27.7% 32.4% 51.1%EU 61.8% 59.0% 58.3% 56.7% 49.5% 45.6% 43.0% 42.6% 50.6%FR 60.7% 56.7% 48.7% 52.8% 46.8% 42.8% 40.6% 42.4% 50.1%IE 63.6% 47.6% 68.3% 44.0% 50.2% 58.6% 57.6% 52.4% 49.7%PL 20.9% 24.5% 23.8% 45.7%CY 72.5% 59.4% 44.0% 45.0%HU 38.5% 36.3% 29.0% 43.4%NL 58.1% 50.6% 47.2% 35.7% 30.0% 39.3% 36.8% 37.3% 41.9%FI 30.1% 39.4% 40.5% 41.0% 40.7%EE 26.8% 43.9% 36.5% 37.6%UK 32.3% 32.6% 36.2% 36.4% 24.0% 39.2% 34.5% 35.4% 36.9%LV 41.3% 53.7% 30.2% 33.5%BG 38.9% 36.1% 32.6%PT 51.2% 35.5% 39.9% 38.6% 36.8% 33.7% 30.8%HR 25.2% 29.9%SI 28.4% 28.3% 24.5% 28.9%CZ 28.3% 28.2% 18.2% 28.7%SK 17.0% 19.6% 13.0% 22.7%

7

European Parliament: Facts and Figures

Activity in EP plenary sessions in the eighth term (July 2014 - June 2019)

Working with citizens and partners

Plenary sitting days

260Days

Hours of sittings

12

9

6

32 160Hours

Texts2 790

Texts adopted

1 071

Legislative acts

of which

Votes23 553

Written questions tabled58 840

?Amendments adopted

21 298

Amendments rejected22 692

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 feed their deliberations on specific topics. Citizens also have various means to make contact with the Parliament, either by visiting the institution, asking questions to the Citizens’ Enquiries Unit (Ask EP), submitting a petition for consideration by the Petitions Committee, or by contacting an individual Member directly. The figures below give a flavour of these activites in the eighth term, from July 2014 to June 2019.

Source: Plenary Organisation and Follow-up Unit, DG Presidency, European Parliament

Follow-up letters from Petitions Committee24 713Citizens’ visits to

EP hemicycles1 843 713Public hearings by EP Committees585

Meetings with national parliaments72 Petitions received

from citizens7 494Citizens’ enquiries received by ‘Ask EP’272 000

Plenary sitting days

279Days

Hours of sittings

12

9

6

32 401Hours

Texts2 575

Texts adopted

965

Legislative acts

of which

Votes30 992

Written questions tabled48 207

?Amendments adopted

18 824

Amendments rejected9 645

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 EU legislation and holding hearings on key issues. In the course of the legislative process, representatives of EP committees meet frequently with their counterparts in the Council and the European Commission, in trilateral negotiations known as ‘trilogues’, under the ‘co-decision’ procedure - see page 10.

The statistics below show that the 2014-19 European Parliament sat for longer than its predecessor, and held almost a third more votes; however, it adopted fewer texts, both legislative and non-legislative.

Activity in EP plenary sessions in the seventh term (July 2009 - June 2014)

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Parliamentary committeesThere 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 seats on each committee are distributed among the Parliament’s political groups in the same proportions as the seats they hold in the Parliament as a whole. The chart below lists 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 Antonio Tajani, Chair of the Constitutional Affairs (AFCO) Committee, as their chair for the first half of the current parliamentary term. The pie chart shows the distribution of committee chairs between the political groups, using the same colour code as before.

Share of committee chairs by political group

Number of MEPs Name of Chair

JURIDEVEAFCOPECHCONTCULTPETI

FEMMBUDG

INTAREGI

IMCOAGRI

TRANEMPLECON

LIBESEDEDROIAFETITREENVIEnvironment, Public Health and Food Safety

Industry, Research and Energy

Foreign Affairs

Human Rights

Security and Defence

Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs

Economic and Monetary Affairs

Employment and Social Affairs

Transport and Tourism

Agriculture and Rural Development

Internal Market and Consumer Protection

Regional Development

International Trade

Budgets

Women's Rights and Gender Equality

Petitions

Culture and Education

Budgetary Control

Fisheries

Constitutional Affairs

Development

Legal Affairs

Renew Europe

EPP

EPP

S&D

Renew Europe

S&D

S&D

ECR

Greens/EFA

EPP

Greens/EFA

GUE/NGL

S&D

ECR

S&D

EPP

EPP

EPP

Renew Europe

EPP

EPP

Renew Europe

Pascal CANFIN

Adina-Ioana VALEAN

David McALLISTER

Maria ARENA

Nathalie LOISEAU

Juan Fernando LÓPEZ AGUILAR

Irene TINAGLI

Lucia DURIŠ NICHOLSONOVÁ

Karima DELLI

Norbert LINS

Petra DE SUTTER

Younous OMARJEE

Bernd LANGE

Johan VAN OVERTVELDT

Evelyn REGNER

Dolors MONTSERRAT

Sabine VERHEYEN

Monika HOHLMEIER

Chris DAVIES

Antonio TAJANI

Tomas TOBÉ

Lucy NETHSINGHA

Austria (AT)

Italy (IT)

Sweden (SE)

Italy (IT)

Germany (DE)

Germany (DE)

Germany (DE)

France (FR)

France (FR)

France (FR)

Germany (DE)

Romania (RO)

Belgium (BE)

United Kingdom (UK)

United Kingdom (UK)

Germany (DE)

Spain (ES)

Slovakia (SK)

Belgium (BE)

France (FR)

Belgium (BE)

Spain (ES)

76

72

71

30

30

68

60

55

49

48

45

43

41

41

35

35

31

30

28

28

26

25

GUE/NGL

Greens/EFA

ECR

Renew Europe

S&D

EPP

20committees

36%

18%

9%

9%5%

23%

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European Parliament: Facts and Figures

European Parliament legislative activity, 2004-19A core element of the European Parliament’s work 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 the number of legislative resolutions adopted in plenary each year since 2004, including at all readings for co-decision.

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, for the parliamentary term from July 2014 to June 2019. The circles, in proportion, show the number of files concluded at each stage of the procedure. Throughout the most recent five-year term, no files went to the conciliation/third reading stage.

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. As well as the total number of files agreed, it also shows the number agreed at first reading (the most common case).

Source: Legislative Planning and Coordination Unit, DG Presidency, European Parliament

Duration Number of procedures

0 510 15 20 25 30 35 40

Conciliation

CSL second reading agreement

Early second reading agreement

First reading agreement

Council 2nd reading

EP 2nd reading

1st reading 18 months

39 months

40 months

ConciliationCSL second reading agreem

entEarly second reading agreem

entFirst reading agreem

ent

4

41

356

Council 2nd reading

EP 2nd reading

Conciliation

1st reading

Consultation

Consent

Co-decision

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

Cooperation

Consultation

Consent

Codecision

2019201820172016201520142013201220112010200920082007200620052004

Cooperation

Codecision

Consent

Consultation350

300

200

250

150

100

50

0

112

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

41

33

75

39

40

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

77

45

40

2017

88

38

40

2018

118

43

43

431318

2019*

0

50

100

150

200

Conciliation

Council 2nd reading

EP 2nd reading

1st reading

2019201820172016201520142013201220112010200920082007200620052004

Conciliation

CSL 2

EP 2

EP 1

41

200

150

100

50

0

34

5358

103

34

52

98

124122

152

44

5661

77

60

70104

116 137

148

40

58

92

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

51

72

2017

68

7479

80

2018

94

2019*

* Data refer to the period Jan - Jun 2019

* Data refer to the period Jan - Jun 2019

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European Parliament: Facts and Figures

Source: Legislative Coordination Unit, DG Internal Policies, European Parliament

Number of trilogues per year and per committeeFrom July 2014 to June 2019, EP committees participated in a total of 1 184 trilogue meetings with the Council and Commission. The bar graph below shows the number of trilogues held by year since the beginning of the 2009-14 term, with a peak in 2013, notably reflecting decisions on programmes within the 2014-20 Multiannual Financial Framework.

In 2018, out of 315 trilogues, 299 involved a single committee, while in 16 cases, two committees took part. In 2019, 178 trilogues had a single committee participating. The pie chart shows which parliamentary committees were most involved in trilogues in 2018, the fourth full year of the 2014-19 term. It highlights the eight most active committees in terms of trilogues held, as a percentage of the total.

Number of legislative and own-initiative reportsThe chart below shows the number of reports adopted in each parliamentary committee between July 2014 and June 2019. ‘Own initiative reports’, represented by light orange bars, include both legislative initiative and other own-initiative reports. ‘Legislative reports’, by blue bars, include reports under the ordinary legislative procedure (co-decision), consent procedure and consultation procedure, as well as procedures relating to international agreements. ‘Other reports’, in dark orange, relate primarily to work under procedures specific to a given committee, such as on the budget, discharge, and questions of Members’ immunity in legal proceedings. The green bars concern procedures in which committees consider whether to object to ‘delegated’ or ‘implementing’ act, which are in effect forms of administrative law, adopted by the Commission under existing legislation.

Others:

TRAN

JURI

EMPL

ENVI

IMCO

ECON

ITRE

LIBE0

200

400

600

800

20192018201720162015201420132012201120102009

8th term7th term

15 95

249

371

695

13255 229

144

251

16299Joint committeeSingle committee

LIBE: 60

ITRE: 47

ECON: 32

IMCO: 32ENVI: 31

EMPL: 30

JURI: 18

TRAN: 11

Others: 5419%

15%

10%10%

10%

10%

6%3%

17%

Triloguemeetings:

315315

190

Number of trilogues per year and per committee

Joint committees 23 27 12

Legislativereports

Own-initiativereports

Otherreports

Delegated and implemented acts

21622

97

11132

808

57

933

2

14

72

518

44

32

1

3

61

21210

533

263

47107

28163

1997

2 72

556

961

368

472813

10

258

Budgets (BUDG)Petitions (PETI)Agriculture and Rural Development (AGRI)Budgetary Control (CONT)Fisheries (PECH)Constitutional A�airs (AFCO)Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO)Transport and Tourism (TRAN)Culture and Education (CULT)Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI)Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE)Development (DEVE)International Trade (INTA)Women's Rights and Gender Equality (FEMM)Legal A�airs (JURI)Regional Development (REGI)Civil Liberties, Justice and Home A�airs (LIBE)Employment and Social A�airs (EMPL)Economic and Monetary A�airs (ECON)Foreign A�airs (AFET) 91

4229292928262222202018181717161512105

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EPRS | European Parliamentary Research Service

President1

Vice-Presidents14

Quaestors(non-voting)

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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 individual 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 two governing bodies of the European Parliament - the Bureau and the Conference of Presidents - presented above, are complemented by other coordination bodies, notably the Conference of Committee Chairs (CCC), the Conference of Delegation Chairs, the Panel for the Future of Science and Technology (STOA Panel) and the Democracy Support and Election Coordination Group.

The Conference of Presidents (CoP) - composed of the Parliament’s President and the chairs of its seven political groups - 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, ordered by size of the groups, in terms of their seats in the Parliament. Three groups have co-chairs. The non-attached (NI) Members are represented by a non-voting observer.

President of the EP: David Maria SASSOLI S&D

David Maria SASSOLI President S&D

Mairead McGUINNESS Vice-President EPPPedro SILVA PEREIRA Vice-President S&DRainer WIELAND Vice-President EPPKatarina BARLEY Vice-President S&DOthmar KARAS Vice-President EPPEwa KOPACZ Vice-President EPPKlára DOBREV Vice-President S&DDita CHARANZOVÁ Vice-President Renew EuropeNicola BEER Vice-President Renew EuropeLívia JÁRÓKA Vice-President EPPHeidi HAUTALA Vice-President Greens/EFAMarcel KOLAJA Vice-President Greens/EFADimitrios PAPADIMOULIS Vice-President GUE/NGLFabio Massimo CASTALDO Vice-President NI

Anne SANDER Quaestor EPPMonika BEŇOVÁ Quaestor S&DDavid CASA Quaestor EPPGilles BOYER Quaestor Renew EuropeKarol KARSKI Quaestor ECR

Hungary (HU)

Austria (AT)

Greece (GR)

Poland (PL)

Ireland (IE)

Italy (IT)

Finland (FI)

Italy (IT)

Czech Republic (CZ)

France (FR)

Poland (PL)

Malta (MT)

Slovakia (SK)

France (FR)

Portugal (PT)

Germany (DE)

Germany (DE)

Hungary (HU)

Germany (DE)

Czech Republic (CZ)

Chair Chair Observer

Manfre

d

WEBERIra

txe

GARCÍA PÉREZDian

e

DODDS

Co-chairs

Ska

KELLER

Philippe

LAMBERTS

ID

EPP S&DGreens/EFA

Chair

Marco

ZANNI

ECR GUE/NGL NI

Co-Chairs

Manon

AUBRYMart

in

SCHIRDEWAN

NI

Renew Europe

Co-Chairs

Raffae

le

FITTO

Ryszard

Antoni

LEGUTKO

Chair

Dacian

CIOLOŞ

Governing bodies of the EP

Previous editions of this Briefing were issued in April 2019 (PE 635.515), April 2018 (PE 614.733), March 2017 (PE 599.256), March 2016 (PE 573.919), 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 Directorate for Relations with National Parliaments and the Legislative Planning and Coordination, Members’ Activities, Members’ Administration, and Plenary Organisation and Follow-up Units of DG Presidency (PRES), the Legislative Coordination Unit and Petitions Committee secretariat of DG Internal Policies (IPOL); the 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 This document is prepared for, and addressed to, the Members and staff of the European Parliament as background material to assist them in their parliamentary work. The content of the document is the sole responsibility of its author(s) and any opinions expressed herein should not be taken to represent an official position of the Parliament. 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, 2019.

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