Difference between revisions of "How is the European parliament elected?"

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The President is elected for a renewable term of two and a half years, i.e. half the lifetime of a Parliament. The President represents the European Parliament vis-à-vis the outside world and in its relations with the other Community institutions.<br/>   
The President is elected for a renewable term of two and a half years, i.e. half the lifetime of a Parliament. The President represents the European Parliament vis-à-vis the outside world and in its relations with the other Community institutions.<br/>   
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===President's Roles===
 
- Assisted by 14 Vice-Presidents, the President oversees all the work of the Parliament and its constituent bodies (Bureau and Conference of Presidents), as well as the debates in plenary. Twelve plenary part-sessions are held each year in Strasbourg and six more in Brussels.<br/>
==Members==
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- The President ensures that Parliament’s Rules of Procedure are adhered to and, through his arbitration, guarantees that all the activities of the institution and its constituent bodies run smoothly.<br/>
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- The President is the representative of Parliament in legal affairs and in all external relations. S/he delivers an opinion on all major international issues and makes recommendations designed to strengthen the European Union.<br/>
The European Parliament is made up of 736 Members elected in the 27 Member States of the enlarged European Union. Since 1979 MEPs have been elected by direct universal suffrage for a five-year period.<br/>
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- At the beginning of every European Council meeting (summit) the President of the European Parliament sets out Parliament’s point of view and its concerns as regards the items on the agenda and other subjects.<br/>
Each Member State decides on the form its election will take, but follows identical democratic groundrules: equality of the sexes and a secret ballot. In all Member States, the voting age is 18, with the exception of Austria, where it is 16.
European elections are already governed by a number of common principles: direct universal suffrage, proportional representation and a five-year renewable term.<br/>
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- After the European Union’s budget has been adopted by Parliament at second reading, the President signs it, rendering it operational.<br/>
The seats are, as a general rule, shared out proportionately to the population of each Member State. Each Member State has a set number of seats, the maximum being 99 and the minimum five.<br/>
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- The EP President and the President of the Council both sign all legislative acts adopted under codecision.<br/>


==Members==
===References===
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[http://www.europarlmt.eu/view/en/European_Parliament.html;jsessionid=E0EEBF649BA129DC3C62A33E713F7ACC European Parliament]
==Political groups==
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Latest revision as of 22:22, 13 October 2009

President


The President is elected for a renewable term of two and a half years, i.e. half the lifetime of a Parliament. The President represents the European Parliament vis-à-vis the outside world and in its relations with the other Community institutions.

Members


The European Parliament is made up of 736 Members elected in the 27 Member States of the enlarged European Union. Since 1979 MEPs have been elected by direct universal suffrage for a five-year period.

Each Member State decides on the form its election will take, but follows identical democratic groundrules: equality of the sexes and a secret ballot. In all Member States, the voting age is 18, with the exception of Austria, where it is 16. European elections are already governed by a number of common principles: direct universal suffrage, proportional representation and a five-year renewable term.

The seats are, as a general rule, shared out proportionately to the population of each Member State. Each Member State has a set number of seats, the maximum being 99 and the minimum five.

References

European Parliament