751 Briefing - European Parliament

Briefing
March 2016
European Parliament: Facts and Figures
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 by political groups
European Parliament, 2014-19
Size of the political groups
Proportion
Members
each
politicalbygroup
Proportionof
and
number ofin
seats
of Members
group
Number
ofinMembers
in each
group
Number
of MEPs
each political
group
as of
1 March 2016.
Share of each political group in the total 751 seats in the
Parliament.
ALDE
216 EPP
190 S&D
75 ECR
70 ALDE
52 GUE/NGL
50 Greens/EFA
45 EFDD
38 ENF
15 NI
European Parliament by political groups
71
68
751
MEPs
ECR
ALDE
219 Greens/EFA
EPP (Group of the European People's Party)
EPP
9.3%Alliance of Socialists
of the Progressive
191
S&D (Group
and Democrats
in the European Parliament)
6.7%
28.8%
(European Conservatives and Reformists)
S&D
(Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe)
25.3%
52 GUE/NGL (European United Left/Nordic Green Left)
50 Greens/EFA (The Greens/European Free Alliance)
48 EFDD (Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy Group)Total
6.9%
52 NI GUE/NGL
(Non-attached Members)
751 seats
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).
EPRS | European Parliamentary Research Service
Author: Giulio Sabbati
Members’ Research Service
PE 573.919
10.0%
ECR
6.0% EFDD
5.1% ENF
2.0% NI
EPRS
European Parliament: Facts and Figures
Size of political groups in the EP by Member State (as of 1 March 2016)
EPP
EPP
DE
FR
IT
UK
ES
PL
RO
NL
BE
CZ
EL
HU
PT
SE
AT
BG
DK
SK
FI
IE
HR
LT
LV
SI
EE
CY
LU
MT
EU
DE
34
ECR
S&D
S&D
DE
27
ECR
DE8
GUE/NGL
ALDE
GUE/
NGL
ALDE
DE8
DE4
Greens/
EFA
EFD
EFDD
NI_OTHER
EPP
ENF
NI
Total
96
FR4
FR3
FR1
FR
FR
FR
FR
FR7
20
13
20
74
IT
IT
IT
IT
IT2
IT
IT
IT
IT5
3
15
31
17
73
UK1
UK1
UK6
UK
UK
UK
UK1
UK
UK1
20
21
22
73
ES
ES
ES
ES
ES
ES
ES
ES
ES
11
17
14
8
4
54
PL
PL1
PL
PL1
PL
PL5
PL
PL
PL2
23
19
51
RO
RO
RO
RO
RO
RO
RO
RO
RO
12
15
1
3
1
32
NL3
NL
NL2
NL
NL2
NL3
NL7
NL5
NL4
26
BE
BE
BE2
BE
BE4
BE4
BE6
BE4
BE1
21
CZ3
CZ
CZ
CZ1
CZ2
CZ4
CZ4
CZ7
CZ
21
EL6
EL5
EL
EL
EL1
EL4
EL
EL5
EL
21
HU
HU3
HU2
HU
HU
HU4
HU
HU
HU
12
21
PT4
PT
PT
PT
PT
PT8
PT2
PT7
PT
21
SE1
SE
SE4
SE2
SE
SE6
SE3
SE4
SE
20
AT
AT
AT3
AT
AT
AT5
AT1
AT5
AT4
18
BG
BG
BG
BG
BG2
BG4
BG4
BG7
BG
17
DK1
DK
DK1
DK
DK4
DK3
DK3
DK1
DK
13
SK
SK
SK
SK
SK3
SK4
SK
SK6
SK
13
FI1
FI
FI1
FI
FI2
FI2
FI4
FI3
FI
13
IE
IE
IE
IE
IE
IE
IE
IE4
IE
4
1
1
1
11
HR
HR
HR1
HR
HR1
HR2
HR2
HR5
HR
11
LT
LT
LT1
LT1
LT1
LT2
LT4
LT2
LT
11
LV
LV
LV1
LV
LV1
LV1
LV1
LV4
LV
8
SI
SI
SI1
SI
SI
SI1
SI1
SI5
SI
8
EE
EE
EE1
EE
EE
EE1
EE3
EE1
EE
6
CY2
CY
CY
CY
CY
CY2
CY
CY2
CY
6
LU
LU
LU1
LU
LU
LU1
LU1
LU3
LU
6
MT
MT
MT
MT
MT
MT3
MT
MT3
MT
6
216
190
75
70
52
45
38
15
751
0 10 20 30 40 50
0 10 20 30 40
0 10 20 30 40 0 10 20 30 40 0 10 20 30 40
0 10 20 30 40 0 10 20 30 40 0 10 20 30 40
0 10 20 30 40
EPP
S&D
ECR
ALDE
28.8%
25.3%
10.0%
9.3%
GUE/
NGL
6.9%
DE
13
FR6
Greens/EFA
Greens/
EFA
6.7%
DE
DE2
DE
EFDD
ENF
NI
Total
6.0%
5.1%
2.0%
100%
Data supplied by Members’ Administration Unit, European Parliament.
Country codes and flags:
Austria (AT)
Belgium (BE)
Bulgaria (BG)
Croatia (HR)
Cyprus (CY)
Czech Republic (CZ)
Denmark (DK)
Estonia (EE)
Finland (FI)
France (FR)
Germany (DE)
Greece (EL)
Hungary (HU)
Ireland (IE)
Italy (IT)
Latvia (LV)
Lithuania (LT)
Luxembourg (LU)
Malta (MT)
Netherlands (NL)
Poland (PL)
Portugal (PT)
Romania (RO)
Slovakia (SK)
Slovenia (SI)
Spain (ES)
Sweden (SE)
United Kingdom (UK)
Members’ Research Service
Page 2 of 12
Germany (D
France (FR)
Italy (IT)
United King
Spain (ES)
Poland (PL)
Romania (RO
Netherlands
Belgium (BE
Czech Repu
Greece (GR)
Hungary (HU
Portugal (PT
Sweden (SE)
Austria (AT)
Bulgaria (BG
Denmark (D
Slovakia (SK
Finland (FI)
Ireland (IE)
Croatia (HR)
Lithuania (LT
Latvia (LV)
Slovenia (SL
Estonia (EE)
Cyprus (CY)
Luxembourg
Malta (MT)
EU
Re-elected MEPs
EPRS
European Parliament: Facts and Figures
New MEPs
New and re-elected MEPs in 2014 (as a percentage share of total MEPs)
1,0
100%
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%
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%).
0,5
New MEPs
50%
0,0
EL EL
IT IT
CY CY
CZ CZ
EE EE
BG BG
SE SE
IE IE
NL NL
ES ES
PT PT
MTMT
SI SI
EU EU
HUHU
PL PL
DK DK
SK SK
FR FR
LT LT
AT AT
UK UK
BE BE
LV LV
RO RO
HR HR
DE DE
FI FI
LU LU
0%
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%
Re-elected MEPs
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
BG
age of Members on 1 January 2016 was 53 years, with the oldest
NL
member being 87 (from France) and the youngest 27 (a Bulgarian
DK
and a Spanish Member).
CZ
MT
At the constituent session in July 2014 the average was also
RO
53 years, with the oldest Member 91 (from Greece) and the
PT
youngest 26 (from Denmark).
BE
SE
Between July 2014 and January 2016, 33 MEPs were replaced
HR
for different reasons. Fourteen MEPs resigned, two died and 17
IE
were appointed to an office incompatible with membership of
IT
DE
the European Parliament – for instance they became a member
AT
of their national parliament or government.
ES
HU
GB
EU
CY
LT
GR
LV
FI
EE
SI
SK
FR
PL
LU
Minimum
BG
NL
DK
CZ
MT
RO
PT
BE
SE
HR
IE
IT
DE
AT
ES
HU
UK
EU
CY
LT
GR
LV
FI
EE
SI
SK
FR
PL
LU
0
Members’ Research Service
Average
Maximum
27
29
28
45
67
47
69
48
71
34
49
72
37
49
67
30
49
72
33
50
67
31
50
72
34
50
67
40
50 59
38
51
63
29
51
71
28
51
75
37
52
65
27
52
73
37
52
76
30
53
72
27
53
87
40
54 62
34
54
67
36
54
76
39
54
65
38
55
70
38
56
79
44
56
72
41
56
76
34
56
87
39
57
77
40
58 65
20
40
60
80
Diff
Min
100
Page 3 of 12
EPRS
European Parliament: Facts and Figures
European Parliament, 1979-2014
Strengths 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.
1,0
100%
1,0 2.4%
2.7%
5.4% 0,9
0,9
0,9
0,8
0,8 10.7% 0,8
1.6%
2.3%
3.7%
4.6%
2.7%
3.3%
2.5%
3.9%
6.7%
5.8%
5.4%
9.4%
0,7
0,7 9.8%
7.1%
9.5%
0,6
0,6 15.4% 0,6 11.5%
6.6%
0,7
0,5
50% 0,5
0,4
0,4
0,3
0,3
0,3
0,2
0,2
0,2
0,1
0,1 26.3% 0,1 25.3%
0,0
1.4%
4.8%
3.4%
3.4%
4.8%
4.6%
0,4
3.7%
6.7%
5.1%
5.7%
5.6%
8.0%
12.0%
2.6%
7.7%
4.1%
4.9%
7.8%
0,5
27.3%
4.0%
2.9%
4.8%
28.8%
30.0%
34.7%
23.4%
27.3%
34.9%
37.2%
27.5%
36.6%
1,0
100%
3.7%
4.3% 0,9
0,9
7.5%
4.8% 0,8 0,8
1,0
6.9%
0,9
6.4%
6.7%
0,8
6.9%
11.4% 0,7
0,7
7.3% 0,6
25.0%
36.0%
0,7
8.9%
0,6
0,6
9.3%
0,5 0,5
50%
0,5
0,4 0,4
25.4%
0,4
0,3 0,3
0,3
0,2 0,2
0,2
29.4%
0,1 0,1
0,1
0,0 0%
0,0
0% 0,0
0,0
1979-1984 1984-1989 1989-1994 1994-1999 1999-2004 2004-2009 2009-2014
0,0
1.7.2014
1,0
2.0%
5.1%
0,9
6.0%
6.7%
NA
NA 0,9 N
0,8
0,8
TDI
TDI
T
6.9%
0,7
0,7
9.3%
UEN
UEN0,6 U
0,6
10.0%
0,5
0,5
EDN->I-EDN
EDN->
E
25.3%
0,4
0,4
ARE
ARE0,3 A
0,3
0,2
FE28.8%
FE
0,1
CG0,0
EPP
S&D
ECR
ALDE
GUE/NGL
Greens/EFA
EFDD
NI
ENF
0,1
F
CG 0,0 C
1.3.2016
1979-1984 1979-1984
1984-1989
1989-1994
1994-1999
1999-2004
2004-2009
2009-2014
2014-2019
1984-1989
1989-1994
1994-1999
1999-2004
2004-2009
2009-2014
2014-2019
1979-1984
1984-1989
1989-1994
1994-1999
1999-2004
2004-2009
2009-2014
2014-2019 1984-1989
1979-1984
1979-1984
1984-1989
1989-1994
1994-1999
1999-2004
2004-2009
2009-2014
2016
DR
0,2
1989-1994
DR D
Others
ARC ARC A
Source: Directorate-General for Communication, European Parliament
RDE RDE R
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 constitutions of political groups, and indeed their membership, can change frequently. So, whilst we can identify substantial 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.
CDI
CDI C
DEP DEP D
National parties and political groups in the EP
EFDD EFDDE
Over 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.
Number of MEPs
Number of Member States
Number of political groups
Number of national political parties
Number of national delegations in political groups
Members’ Research Service
410
434
518
567
626
732
736
9
7
57
37
10
8
67
42
12
10
103
64
12
9
97
58
15
8
127
74
25
7
168
109
27
7
176
116
1.3.2016
GUE/NGL
GUE/N
G
1.7.2014
2009-2014
2004-2009
1999-2004
1994-1999
1989-1994
1984-1989
1979-1984
Greens/EFA
Green
G
ALDE ALDEA
751 751
ECR
ECR E
28 28
7
8
191 211
129 139
S&D S&D S
EPP
EPP E
Page 4 of 12
EPRS
European Parliament: Facts and Figures
Proportion of men and women in the EP
The 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%.
1,0
100%
0,8
1979-1984
16%
80%
0,6
60%
0,4
40%
0,2
20%
0,0
0%
M
Male
2014-2019
36.9%
16.3%
1979-1984
1979-84
37%
Female
1984-1989
1984-89
1989-1994
1989-94
1994-1999
1994-99
1999-2004
2004-2009
1999-2004
2004-09
2009-2014
2009-14
2014-2019
2014-19
Women in EP and EU national parliaments
Comparison 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).
40%
0,4
European Parliament
30%
EU
0,3
20%
0,2
10%
0,1
Member States’ national parliaments
0%
1979
1984
1989
1994
1999
2004
2009
2014
1979
1984
1989
1994
1999
2004
2009
2014 2016
0,0
Women MEPs by Member State
28.6%
28.1%
23.8%
23.8%
23.5%
19.0%
16.7%
9.1%
50%
>0
None
None
35%
None
None
None
29.4%
30.8%
33.3%
36.5%
37.0%
37.5%
38.1%
38.4%
38.5%
41.1%
41.9%
42.3%
44.4%
45.5%
50.0%
50.0%
50.0%
50.0%
54.5%
66.7%
6
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
Total seats
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
Percentage of women Members in the EP (1 January 2016)
61.5%
MT FI
None
None
None
None
40%
33%
33%
None
None
50%
None
40%
40%
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
Gender quotas applicable to EP in the 2014 elections
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.
Members’ Research Service
Page 5 of 12
Fe
EPRS
European Parliament: Facts and Figures
Electoral systems for the European Parliament
Voting system and number of MEPs
Cyprus
Cyprus
6
Malta
Malta
6
Slovenia
Slovenia
8
Luxembourg
Luxembourg
6
13
20
6
8
11
13
3+
Closed lists
Closed
lists
26
Preferential
voting 11 70
Preferenal vong
STV
21
STV
Multiple
constituencies
Mulple constuencies
96
ofMEPs
MEPs
96 Number
Number of
21
The EP now has 751 MEPs, a reduction from the previous Parliament (2009-14), in which there were 766
MEPs (754 plus 12 for Croatia, which joined in 2013).
51
21
74
18
13
21
32
11
73
54
17
21
5%
4%
4%
3%
1.8%
1.8%
*
None
None
****Threshold applies to
****each constituency
Electoral threshold
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
achieve the latter possibility of preferential voting by
using the single transferable vote (STV).
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%, particularly in countries with a small number of seats in Parliament.
* Threshold applies to each constituency
Annual cost of the EP per inhabitant
EP
EP
€ 3.10
Germany
DE
€ 8.20
France
FR
€ 8.10
UK
UK
€ 7.30
USA
USA
€ 5.80
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.
Members’ Research Service
Page 6 of 12
EPRS
European Parliament: Facts and Figures
Turnout in European Elections
Turnout in Member States at EP elections since 1979
For 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.
BE
LU
MT
EL
IT
DK
IE
SE
DE
LT
AT
CY
ES
EU
FR
FI
NL
EE
BG
UK
PT
RO
LV
HU
HR
SI
PL
CZ
SK
!
!
!
1979
91.4%
88.9%
1984
92.1%
88.8%
1989
90.7%
87.4%
1994
90.7%
88.5%
1999
91.0%
87.3%
84.9%
47.8%
63.6%
77.2%
83.4%
52.4%
47.6%
79.9%
81.0%
46.2%
68.3%
73.2%
73.6%
52.9%
44.0%
71.5%
69.8%
50.4%
50.2%
38.8%
45.2%
65.7%
56.8%
62.3%
60.0%
2004
90.8%
91.3%
82.4%
63.2%
71.7%
47.9%
58.6%
37.9%
%
48.4%
42.4%
72.5%
45.1%
45.6%
42.8%
39.4%
39.3%
26.8%
49.0%
!
61.8%
60.7%
59.0%
56.7%
54.6%
58.3%
48.7%
58.1%
50.6%
47.2%
32.3%
32.6%
36.2%
51.2%
59.1%
56.7%
52.8%
35.7%
36.4%
35.5%
63.0%
49.5%
46.8%
30.1%
30.0%
24.0%
39.9%
41.3%
38.5%
2009
90.4%
90.8%
78.8%
52.6%
65.1%
59.5%
57.6%
45.5%
43.3%
21.0%
46.0%
59.4%
44.9%
43.0%
40.6%
40.5%
36.8%
43.9%
38.9%
34.5%
36.8%
27.7%
53.7%
36.3%
28.4%
20.9%
28.3%
17.0%
28.3%
24.5%
28.2%
19.6%
39.2%
38.6%
Highest turnout with compulsory voting
Highest turnout without compulsory voting
Lowest turnout
2014
89.6%
85.5%
74.8%
60.0%
57.2%
56.3%
52.4%
51.1%
48.1%
47.4%
45.4%
44.0%
43.8%
42.6%
42.4%
41.0%
37.3%
36.5%
36.1%
35.4%
33.7%
32.4%
30.2%
29.0%
25.2%
24.5%
23.8%
18.2%
13.0%
Belgium (BE)
Luxembourg (LU)
Malta (MT)
Greece (GR)
Italy (IT)
Denmark (DK)
Ireland (IE)
Sweden (SE)
Germany (DE)
Lithuania (LT)
Austria (AT)
Cyprus (CY)
Spain (ES)
EU
France (FR)
Finland (FI)
Netherlands (NL)
Estonia (EE)
Bulgaria (BG)
United Kingdom (UK)
Portugal (PT)
Romania (RO)
Latvia (LV)
Hungary (HU)
Croatia
Slovenia (SL)
Poland (PL)
Czech Republic (CZ)
Slovakia (SK)
Compulsory voting in this Member State (Voting was also compulsory in Italy from 1979 to 1989).
!
Trends in turnout at national and EP elections
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.
100%
United Kingdom
90%
Parliamentary elections in EU Member States
0.9
Sweden
80%
0.8
Spain
70%
0.7
Slovenia
60%
0.6
US Congress (Presidential election
years)
Slovakia
50%
0.5
Romania
European Parliament
40%
0.4
30%
1979
0.3
1979
1984
1984
1989
1989
1994
1994
US Congress (mid-terms)
1999
1999
2004
2004
2009
2009
2014
2015
Portugal
Poland
The graph above highlights the close relationship between the (downward) paths of turnout in EP
elections and
Netherlands
(mid-term) US Congressional elections, in both absolute values and trends. The parallel declines in turnout at MemMalta
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%
Luxembourg
higher. In general, elections in which voters decide who runs the executive branch of government, as well as who
Lithuania
controls the legislature, attract a higher turnout than other elections.
Latviaof votes as a
For reference, turnout in both European Parliament and national parliamentary elections is calculated as the total number
percentage of the total number of registered voters. All national elections taking place in the same year are totalled to generate an annual
Italy
EU-wide percentage.
Members’ Research Service
Ireland
Page 7 of 12
Hungary
EPRS
European Parliament: Facts and Figures
The work of the European Parliament
The 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)
2 790
260
Votes
?
12
9
2Hours
160
3
58 840
6
Hours of sittings
Written questions tabled
21 298
Amendments adopted
Texts adopted
1 071
22 692
Amendments rejected
of which
23 553
Days
Plenary sitting days
Texts
Legislative acts
Activity in EP plenary sessions in the eighth term so far (July 2014 - December 2015)
585
84
Votes
?
12
9
698
Hours
3
21 836
6
Hours of sittings
Written questions tabled
2 170
Amendments adopted
Texts adopted
176
1 902
Amendments rejected
of which
7 584
Days
Plenary sitting days
Texts
Legislative acts
Source: Plenary Organisation and Follow-up Unit, Directorate-General for the Presidency, European Parliament.
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.
27
Meetings with national
parliaments
questions
84 540 Citizens’
answered by ‘Ask EP’ 2 635
189
Public hearings by EP
Committees
392 327
Members’ Research Service
Citizens’ visits
to the EP
6 855
Petitions received
from citizens
Follow-up letters (sent
by the Petitions Committee)
Page 8 of 12
EPRS
European Parliament: Facts and Figures
European Parliament legislative activity, 2004-2015
A 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 ‘codecision’). 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.
Cooperati
The chart below shows all legislative resolutions adopted in plenary each year since 2004, including at all readings
Codecision
for co-decision.
Consent
Consultati
350
350
300
Cooperation
300
250
250
163
113
158
152
41
200
200
150
150
100
100
50
50
0
0
12
24
112
122
110
9
13
117
147
10
170
36
89
6
38
23
58
105
94
113
22
39
105
39
Consultation
33
41
Consent
Legislative
procedures:
Codecision
40
Consultation
39
164
199
Consent
75
Co-decision
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
Conciliatio
The chart below shows the stage of the co-decision procedure at which the EP and Council reached agreementCSL
on 2
individual legislative texts, in each year since 2004.
EP 2
200
EP 1
200
Cooperation
152
150
150
100
100
124
103
92
50
116
122
98
53
50
41
34
56
52
58
44
34
Consultation
148
77
70
61
60
1stConsent
reading
137
EPCodecision
2nd reading
104
Council 2nd reading
58
Conciliation
40
0
0
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
Source: Legislative Planning and Coordination Unit, Office of the Deputy Secretary-General, European Parliament.
Number and average length of co-decision procedures
The chart below shows the average duration in months of each completed ordinary legislative procedure (codecision 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.
1st reading
17 months
First reading agreement
EP 2nd reading
Early second reading agreement
Council 2nd reading
CSL second reading agreement
Conciliation
Conciliation
First reading
Earlyagreement
second reading
CSL second
agreement
reading agreement
Conciliation
Duration
Number of procedures
448
32 months
40
33 months
30
30 months
8
Page 9 of 12
Members’ Research Service
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
EPRS
European Parliament: Facts and Figures
Number of trilogues per year and per committee
During 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).
Othe
800 800
700
8th term
LIBE: 56
7th term
600 600
500
695
33.6%
400 400
300
200 200
100
0
0
371
249
15
2009
2009
95
2010
2010
229
55
132
2011
2011
2012
2012
2013
2013
2014
2014
24.5%
Trilogue
meetings:
229
9.6%
ECON: 28
EMPL: 23
ENVI: 23
12.2%
10.0%
10.0%
2015
2015
Others: 77
LIBE
258
220
9
8
6
6
6
5
5
5
5
4
4
3
3
3
3
2
2
2
1
12
9
26
3
44
6
2
20
15
38
5
5
Committee names and abbreviations
417
467
1
2
1
14
356
7
182
282
361
401
19
298
145
204
225
209
96
239
91
114
122
313
1
54
3
6
Own-initiative reports
192
Legislative reports
AFCO: Constitutional Affairs
AFET: Foreign Affairs
AGRI: Agriculture and Rural Development
BUDG: Budgets
CONT: Budgetary Control
CULT: Culture and Education
DEVE: Development
DROI: Human Rights
ECON: Economic and Monetary Affairs
EMPL: Employment and Social Affairs
ENVI: Environment, Public Health and Food Safety
FEMM: Women's Rights and Gender Equality
IMCO: Internal Market and Consumer Protection
INTA: International Trade
ITRE: Industry, Research and Energy
JURI: Legal Affairs
LIBE: Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs
PECH: Fisheries
PETI: Petitions
REGI: Regional Development
SEDE: Security and Defence
TRAN: Transport and Tourism
Other reports
Source: Legislative Coordination Unit, Directorate-General for Internal Policies, European Parliament.
Members’ Research Service
EMPL
ECON
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.
18
ENVI
AGRI: 22
Number of legislative and own-initiative reports
AFET
AFET
EMPL
EMPL
ECON
ECON
REGI
REGI
DEVE
DEVE
FEMM
FEMM
JURI
JURI
ITRE
ITRE
TRAN
TRAN
CULT
CULT
ENVI
ENVI
INTA
INTA
LIBE
LIBE
PECH
PECH
IMCO
IMCO
PETI
PETI
AGRI
AGRI
CONT
CONT
AFCO
AFCO
BUDG
BUDG
AGRI
Page 10 of 12
EPRS
European Parliament: Facts and Figures
Main governing bodies in the EP
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 Bureau
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.
Martin SCHULZ
President
S&D
Antonio TAJANI
Mairead McGUINNESS
Rainer WIELAND
Ramón Luis VALCÁRCEL
Ildikó GÁLL-PELCZ
Adina-Ioana VĂLEAN
Sylvie GUILLAUME
Ioan Mircea PAŞCU
David-Maria SASSOLI
Anneli JÄÄTTEENMÄKI
Alexander Graf LAMBSDORFF
Ulrike LUNACEK
Dimitrios PAPADIMOULIS
Ryszard CZARNECKI
Vice-President
Vice-President
Vice-President
Vice-President
Vice-President
Vice-President
Vice-President
Vice-President
Vice-President
Vice-President
Vice-President
Vice-President
Vice-President
Vice-President
EPP
EPP
EPP
EPP
EPP
EPP
S&D
S&D
S&D
ALDE
ALDE
GREENS/EFA
GUE/NGL
ECR
Elisabeth MORIN-CHARTIER
Bogusław LIBERADZKI
Catherine BEARDER
Andrey KOVATCHEV
Karol KARSKI
Quaestor
Quaestor
Quaestor
Quaestor
Quaestor
EPP
S&D
ALDE
EPP
ECR
Germany (DE)
Italy (IT)
1
Ireland (IE)
Germany (DE)
Spain (ES)
President
Hungary (HU)
Romania (RO)
France (FR)
14
Romania (RO)
Italy (IT)
Finland (FI)
Vice-Presidents
Germany (DE)
Austria (AT)
5
Greece (GR)
Poland (PL)
Quaestors
(non-voting)
France (FR)
Poland (PL)
United Kingdom (UK)
Bulgaria (BG)
Poland (PL)
EP Conference of Presidents
The 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.
Italy (IT)
Marcel
de GRAAFF
United Kingdom (UK)
Observer
Diane
DODDS
United Kingdom (UK)
David
BORRELLI
NI
Italy (IT)
Belgium
Italy (IT) (BE)
Philippe
LAMBERTS
Belgium (BE)
Germany (DE)
Germany (DE)
Belgium (BE)
ENF
Belgium (BE)
Germany(BE)
(DE)
Belgium
ALDEGUE/NGL
Greens/EFA
EFDD
Germany
(DE)
United
Kingdom
Belgium
(BE)(UK)
Germany (DE)
Germany
Italy
(IT) (DE)
gdom
(UK)
United
Kingdom
(UK)
Germany
(DE)
gdom
(UK)
France (FR)
(FR)
France
United Kingdom (UK)
UnitedGermany
Kingdom(DE)
(UK)
United Kingdom (UK)
Italy (IT)
Co-Chairs
Marine
LE PEN
(BE)
UnitedBelgium
Kingdom
(UK)
IT)
Italy (IT)(BE)
IT)
Belgium
United Kingdom (UK)
Members’ Research Service
ECR
ENF
Co-Chairs
Nigel
FARAGE
United
Kingdom
Belgium
(BE) (UK)
dom (UK)
Germany
(DE)
dom
(UK)
United
Kingdom
(UK)
Italy
(IT)
United Kingdom (UK)
S&D
EFDD
Co-chairs
Rebecca
HARMS
Italy (IT)
m
(DE)
m (BE)
(BE)Germany
Germany
(DE)
Italy
(IT) (UK)
United Kingdom
Italy (IT)
United Kingdom (UK)
EPP
GREENS/
EFA
Germany(DE)
(DE)
Germany
any
Germany
(DE)
any (DE)
(DE)
Belgium
(BE)
UnitedItaly
Kingdom
(IT) (UK)
Chair
Gabriele
ZIMMER
Germany
Belgium
(BE)(DE)
any
any (DE)
(DE)Germany (DE)
Germany
(DE)
Belgium
(BE)
United Kingdom (UK)
Chair
Guy
VERHOFSTADT
United Kingdom (UK)
um
um (BE)
(BE)
Germany (DE)
Germany
(DE)
Belgium
(BE)
Chair
Syed
KAMALL
Italy (IT)
ngdom
ngdom (UK)
(UK)
Belgium
Germany(BE)
(DE)
Germany (DE)
Chair
Gianni
PITTELLA
Germany (DE)
(IT)
(IT)
United
Kingdom (UK)
Belgium
Germany(BE)
(DE)
Chair
Manfred
WEBER
Germany (DE)
any
any (DE)
(DE)
Italy (IT)
United
Kingdom
Belgium
(BE) (UK)
GUE/
NGL
rmany
rmany (DE)
(DE)
Germany (DE)
(IT) (UK)
UnitedItaly
Kingdom
ALDE
Germany (DE)
Germany
Italy (IT) (DE)
ECR
Germany(DE)
(DE)
Germany
S&D
Germany (DE)
EPP
Germany (DE)
Germany (DE)
President of the EP: Martin SCHULZ
S&D
NI
Netherlands
Netherlands (NL)
(NL)
Page 11 of 12
EPRS
European Parliament: Facts and Figures
Parliamentary committees
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.
Number of MEPs
AFET
AFET
SEDE SEDE
DROI DROI
ENVI
ENVI
ITRE
ITRE
ECON
ECON
LIBE
LIBE
EMPL
EMPL
TRAN
TRAN
AGRI
AGRI
REGI
REGI
BUDG
BUDG
INTA
INTA
IMCO
IMCO
FEMM
FEMM
PETI
PETI
CULT
CULT
CONT
CONT
DEVE
DEVE
AFCO
AFCO
JURI
JURI
PECH
PECH
Name of Chair
71
Elmar BROK
Anna Elżbieta FOTYGA
Elena VALENCIANO
Giovanni LA VIA
Jerzy BUZEK
Roberto GUALTIERI
Claude MORAES
Thomas HÄNDEL
Michael CRAMER
Czesław Adam SIEKIERSKI
Iskra MIHAYLOVA
Jean ARTHUIS
Bernd LANGE
Vicky FORD
Iratxe GARCÍA PÉREZ
Cecilia WIKSTRÖM
Silvia COSTA
Ingeborg GRÄSSLE
Linda McAVAN
Danuta Maria HÜBNER
Pavel SVOBODA
Alain CADEC
30
30
69
66
61
60
55
49
45
43
41
41
40
35
34
31
30
27
25
25
25
EPP
ECR
S&D
EPP
EPP
S&D
S&D
GUE/NGL
GREENS/EFA
EPP
ALDE
ALDE
S&D
ECR
S&D
ALDE
S&D
EPP
S&D
EPP
EPP
EPP
Germany (DE)
Poland (PL)
Spain (ES)
Italy (IT)
Poland (PL)
Italy (IT)
United Kingdom (UK)
Germany (DE)
Germany (DE)
Poland (PL)
Bulgaria (BG)
France (FR)
Germany (DE)
United Kingdom (UK)
Spain (ES)
Sweden (SE)
Italy (IT)
Germany (DE)
United Kingdom (UK)
Poland (PL)
Czech Republic (CZ)
France (FR)
Share of committee chairs by political group
5% 5%
5%
15%
20
30%
GUE/NGL
GREENS/EFA
40%
ECR
ALDE
S&D
EPP
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 represent 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)
Members’ Research Service
Page 12 of 12