Euro FAQ.

• Who is responsible for the running of the European Parliament?
• The committees
• The Political Groups
• Where and how does the EP work?
• The work of the Members of the European Parliament

Who is responsible for the running of the Euroean Parliament?. [top]

All the activities of Parliament and its bodies are the responsibility of the Bureau, consisting of the President and 14 Vice-Presidents. It also includes, in a consultative capacity, five quaestors responsible for administrative and financial matters directly affecting Members. All of its Members are elected for a 2 1/2-year period.

The Conference of Presidents, consisting of the President of Parliament and the chairmen of the political groups, is responsible among other things for organising Parliament's work and drawing up the agenda for plenary sessions.

The Committees. [top]

In the interests of preparing for and facilitating work at Parliament's plenary sessions, Members belong to 20 standing committees, each of which specialises in a particular field, such as Budgetary Control and Fisheries. In addition Parliament can also set up subcommittees, temporary committees, which deal with specific problems, or committees of inquiry.

Joint Parliamentary Committees

Joint Parliamentary Committees maintain relations with the Parliaments of states linked to the European Union under association agreements.

Interparliamentary delegations

Interparliamentary delegations do the same with a large number of parliaments in other states and with international organisations.

The Political Groups. [top]

In the Chamber, Members sit in political groups, not in national delegations. Parliament currently has eight political groups, plus some 'non-attached' Members. The political groups represent the various political tendencies within Parliament. Each is represented in the Conference of Presidents by its chairman, who also has the task of explaining the group's position on issues under discussion at plenary sessions.

The eight political groups in the 1994-1999 Parliament are:

• Group of the Party of European Socialists (PES) - This group includes the Labour Party.
• Group of the European People's Party (EPP)  - This group includes the Conservative Party.
• Union for Europe Group (UFE)
• Group of the Liberal Democratic and Reformist Party (ELDR)  - This group includes the Liberal Democrats.
• Confederal Group of the European United Left/Nordic Green Left (EUL/NGL)
• Green Group in the European Parliament (Green)
• Group of the European Radical Alliance (ERA)
• Group of Independents for a Europe of Nations (I-EdN)

Where and how does the European Parliament work?. [top]

Parliament's seat is in Strasbourg where the one-week plenary sessions are held once a month.

The parliamentary committees generally meet for two weeks a month in Brussels, for ease of contact with Commission and Council. The third week is set aside for meetings of the political groups and the fourth for the plenary session in Strasbourg. Parliament also holds plenary sessions in Brussels. The Secretariat is located in Luxembourg.

Simultaneous interpretation of all parliamentary and committee debates is provided in the Union's 11 official languages: Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish and Swedish. Similarly, all parliamentary documents are translated into and published in these 11 languages.

Reports on legislative proposals are prepared in the parliamentary committees, which appoint a Member as rapporteur for each topic under discussion. The committees may also draw up reports on their own initiative after requesting permission from Parliament's Bureau.

In addition to statements and debates on reports, business at plenary sessions includes parliamentary questions, urgent debates on topical issues, statements by other institutions, and voting time.

In the plenary session, Parliament votes first on the amendments, then on the draft as a whole and finally on the accompanying resolution. The latter is known as a legislative resolution in cases where Parliament is consulted by the Council on a Commission proposal. Such a resolution constitutes Parliament's opinion and indicates whether it approves, rejects or amends the draft Community law.

The work of Members of the European Parliament. [top]

Members of the European Parliament attend parliamentary plenary sessions and a whole range of other meetings (of committees, subcommittees, political groups and working parties).

In the plenary session, Members may speak either on their own behalf or as committee rapporteurs or spokesmen for their political groups. They put written or oral questions to the members of the Council and Commission.

They vote on texts drawn up either by rapporteurs on behalf of a committee or by a number of Members in their own name or on behalf of a political group.

As proxy voting is not permitted, Members vote in person.

Members of the European Parliament are spokesmen for their constituents, whose demands and aspirations they pass on in the regular meetings they have with policy-makers in the Commission, the Council and other institutions.