The European Parliament

The 766-member European Parliament (EP) is a key institution of the European Union (EU), a unique political and economic partnership composed of 28 member states. The EP is the only EU institution that is directly elected. Although the EP does not formally initiate EU legislation, it plays a significant role in the EU’s legislative and budgeting processes, and works closely with the two other main EU bodies, the European Commission and the Council of the European Union (also known as the Council of Ministers).

Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) serve five-year terms. The most recent EP elections were held in June 2009. The EP currently has seven political groups, which caucus according to political ideology rather than nationality, plus a number of “non-attached” or independent members. The EP has 20 standing committees that are key actors in the adoption of EU legislation and a total of 41 delegations that maintain international parliament-to-parliament relations. The EP is led by a President, who oversees its work and represents the EP externally.

Once limited to being a consultative assembly, the EP has accumulated more power over time. Experts assert that the EU’s latest effort at institutional reform—the Lisbon Treaty, which entered into force on December 1, 2009—increases the relative power of the EP within the EU considerably. The EP now shares legislative power with the Council of Ministers in most policy areas, giving the EP the right to accept, amend, or reject the vast majority of EU laws (with some exceptions in areas such as tax matters or foreign policy). The Lisbon Treaty also gives the EP the power to decide on the allocation of the EU budget jointly with the Council, the right to approve or reject international agreements, and greater decision-making authority on trade-related issues. At the same time, some analysts contend that the EP still lacks the legitimacy of national parliaments. Those of this view note the perpetually low voter turnout for EP elections, and assert that many European citizens remain unaware of the EP’s role within the EU.

The EP has not been shy about exerting its new powers under the Lisbon Treaty, and in some areas, with implications for U.S. interests. Long-standing EP concerns about U.S. data privacy safeguards contributed to the EP’s initial rejection in February 2010 of the U.S.-EU SWIFT agreement allowing U.S. authorities access to European financial data to help counter terrorism (a revised accord was eventually approved in July 2010). EP worries about whether the United States could guarantee a sufficient level of protection for European citizens’ personal data also necessitated a new round of U.S.-EU negotiations on another anti-terrorism measure that permits the sharing of airline Passenger Name Record (PNR) data. Following the recent revelations of U.S. National Security Agency surveillance programs and news reports alleging that U.S. intelligence agencies have monitored EU diplomatic offices, many analysts worry about whether future U.S.-EU information-sharing agreements will be able to secure the necessary EP approval. In addition, EP approval will ultimately be required to allow any eventual U.S.-EU agreement on a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) to enter into force.

Ties between the EP and the U.S. Congress are long-standing, and institutional cooperation currently exists through the Transatlantic Legislators’ Dialogue (TLD). In light of the EP’s new powers following the entrance into force of the Lisbon Treaty, especially those that have increased the EP’s role as an actor in the conduct of U.S.-EU relations, the EP and its activities may be of increasing interest to the 113th Congress. Also see CRS Report RS21372, The European Union: Questions and Answers, by Kristin Archick.

[Reports from the Congressional Research Service (CRS) are not made publicly available by CRS. However, a number of US websites make available many of these reports. The links from this page are to the website of the US Department of State: Foreign Press Center or to the Center for Democracy and Technology: Open CRS website. In the latter case the link allows you to access all versions of a report, including the latest. Note that many reports reports are periodically updated].

http://opencrs.com/ http://opencrs.com/

ESO: Information Guide: European Parliament http://www.europeansources.info/record/information-guide-european-parliament/

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