European Parliament

The European Parliament (EP) is one of the seven institutions of the European Union and the only one whose members are directly elected by EU citizens. Elections have been held every five years since 1979. Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) sit not by nationality but in transnational political groups (such as the European People's Party, the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats, Renew Europe, the Greens/EFA, ECR, and others) organized around shared ideology.

The Parliament exercises three core functions:

• Legislative: Under the ordinary legislative procedure (codecision), established by the Maastricht Treaty and extended by the Treaty of Lisbon (in force 1 December 2009), the EP co-legislates with the Council of the EU on most policy areas, including the single market, environment, migration, and consumer protection.
• Budgetary: It adopts the EU's annual budget jointly with the Council and approves the Multiannual Financial Framework.
• Supervisory: It elects the President of the European Commission (on a proposal from the European Council), holds confirmation hearings for Commissioners-designate, and can dismiss the entire Commission through a motion of censure. It also scrutinizes the European Central Bank and other EU bodies.

The EP works across three locations: plenary sessions are held in Strasbourg (its official seat under Protocol No. 6 of the Treaties), additional plenaries and committee work take place in Brussels, and the Secretariat is based in Luxembourg. This tripartite arrangement has long been politically contested on cost grounds but is treaty-anchored.

The number of MEPs is capped by the Treaty on European Union at 751, including the President; following the United Kingdom's withdrawal in 2020, seats were redistributed and the chamber currently has 720 MEPs as of the 2024–2029 term. The Parliament's President is elected by MEPs for a renewable 2.5-year term.