The European Parliament

Every 5 years, the people of the European Union can vote for 751 politicians to work in the European Parliament. The political parties of the EU countries organise themselves to get their own politicians into the Parliament, so they win political power. Because the Parliament has a lot of power.

The European Parliament can vote on almost all EU laws and rules together with the Council. The Parliament also needs to agree on the budget and on the new European Commission.

Every 2.5 years, the Parliament votes for a President, the manager of the Parliament. The Parliament has 20 Committees, who will look at which new laws and rules should be updated. The Members of the European Parliament (or MEPs) specialise in these Committees. One Committee only looks at trade issues, another one at environmental matters.


The official European Parliament's website