European Parliament
The European Parliament is a component of the EU legislative branch.
Contents
Composition
There are currently 720 seats in the parliament. This number is variable and determined by the European Council. The number has been decreased in the past, i.e. post-Brexit.
The parliament has three locations in...
Brussels, and
Almost all plenary sessions are held in the Strasbourg hemicycle. The Brussels hemicycle hosts only a few, short plenary sessions and is otherwise used by committees, especially the Committee of the Regions and the Economic and Social Committee. Political groups also hold sessions here.
A majority of parliamentary staff work in the Brussels hemicycle to support the committees. A substantial minority works in the Luxembourg office. Only a few hundred are permanently staffed to the Strasbourg hemicycle.
Powers
The parliament elects the president of the European Commission (subject to nomination by the European Council). With a two-thirds majority, they can also dismiss the entire European Commission with a vote of no confidence.
The parliament is not authorized to legislate independently. Rather, all legislation begins with a proposal drafted by the Commission. They assign it to a committee and in particular a rapporteur who represents the Commission. The 'opposition' appoints a co-rapporteur
Political groups are supernational political parties. They must have MEPs from at least 7 member states to be recognized. There is no formal 'government' and 'opposition' organization for the political groups, but the informal power balance usually leads to a clear designation anyway.