What is the European Parliament? 

The European Parliament (EP) is the parliament of the European Union, and one of the EU’s seven institutions. As the EU’s directly elected legislative assembly, it is the voice of 450 million Europeans. EU countries hold elections every five years to elect Members of the European Parliament (MEPs).

MEPs amend and approve EU legislation jointly with the Council of the European Union (representing EU governments). Parliament and Council also have to decide on the EU budget. The European Parliament holds other EU institutions, such as the European Commission, to account.

MEPs also elect the President of the European Commission and play a key role in vetting Commissioners-designate through individual hearings. They then choose whether to approve the College of Commissioners - how one refers to the 27 Commissioners collectively - through a consent vote.

Facts and figures about the European Parliament

To ensure transparency, the European Parliament gathers a comprehensive set of statistics to track trends over time. They display current and historical data on national parties and political groups in the Parliament, such as the number of MEPs, the number of Member States, the number of political groups and parties, and the number of national delegations. They also contain interactive graphics that detail the composition of the European Parliament at a given date.