Germany could hang on to MEPs until 2014

Germany would keep all its 99 MEPs until 2014 under plans being discussed in the European Parliament.

The Parliament has to draw up a report on how to share out 750 seats, the number agreed in the EU constitution and likely to be in the new reform treaty. Parliament is planning to present its report in October when the reform treaty is expected to be agreed. Although the number of MEPs that each country gets will not be mentioned in the treaty, it is understood that it will, informally, be part of the deal on other institutional aspects in the reform treaty. Member states will take the final decision on the allocation of seats together with Parliament.

The key issue is how to share out 16 seats which have to be allocated among member states.

Under the EU constitution, after the accession of Romania and Bulgaria the number of MEPs should be reduced from 785 at present to 750. This would give 14 more MEPs than under the Nice Treaty maximum of 736. In addition, no country should have more than 96 or fewer than six deputies which means that Germany would lose three MEPs from its current total of 99 and Malta would see an increase from five to six, freeing up an extra two seats to be shared out.

But advisers to Parliament President Hans-Gert Pöttering are arguing for a delay to the change in the allocation of seats until 2014 as the introduction of the new voting system planned in the constitution, the double majority, was postponed until 2014 in the deal reached by EU leaders at the 21-23 June summit.

The delay in cutting the number of MEPs would go some way to compensate Germany for the delay in introducing a voting system which takes account of its greater population size.

The postponement has the support of MEPs from the main groups on the constitutional affairs committee but may run into opposition from Spain, whose state secretary for EU affairs Alberto Navarro met Spanish MEPs in Strasbourg this week to argue for Spain to gain six more deputies better to reflect its population size.

But under the plan favoured by Pöttering’s advisers, 12 of the 16 seats would be reserved for Croatia which is expected to join the EU around 2010. Spain would get three extra MEPs while Poland would gain one.

The report on the composition of the European Parliament will be drafted by MEPs from the two largest groups. French UMP MEP Alain Lamassoure is expected to represent the European People’s Party-European Democrats (EPP-ED) group while the Socialists are likely to appoint Romanian Social Democrat Adrian Severin.

Germany would keep all its 99 MEPs until 2014 under plans being discussed in the European Parliament.