The European Parliament

How the European Parliament works

The European Parliament is the only EU institution that is directly elected by the people. 21 of the 705 members have been elected in Sweden. The members are known as MEPs (members of the European Parliament) and their main responsibilities involve adopting new legislation and the EU budget together with the Council of the European Union.

The members decide on legislation and the budget

The European Parliament has 705 elected members. 21 of them are elected in Sweden. The MEPs work on behalf of the citizens of the member states. One of the most important tasks of the European Parliament is taking decisions on the European Commission's proposals for new EU legislation. The European Parliament usually does this together with the Council of the European Union, which consists of ministers from the member states’ governments. The Council and the European Parliament also take decisions together on the EU budget.

The number of seats depends on the size of the country's population

Countries with large populations have more members than countries with small populations. No country can have more than 96 members or fewer than 6 members. In this way, a country always has enough MEPs to be able to represent different political groups in the country. MEPs are elected for a period of five years in direct elections in the member states.

Committees are responsible for different policy areas

As in the national parliaments such as the Riksdag in Sweden, the MEPs work in various committees which are responsible for different subject areas. In the European Parliament, there are 20 standing committees and three sub-committees, each responsible for specific subject areas, for example, the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety and the Committee on Fisheries. The Parliament can establish temporary committees if necessary, such as the Special Committee on the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The European Parliament's committees on the European Parliament website

The committees examine proposals for new EU legislation

The committees play a central role in the work of the European Parliament. When a legislative proposal from the European Commission is presented to the European Parliament, it is referred to the committee responsible for the subject area in question. If, for example, the proposal concerns the environment, it is considered by the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety.

The committee that receives a legislative proposal on its table appoints a rapporteur from among its members. The rapporteur then has overall responsibility for the committee's work with the legislative proposal. The task of the rapporteur is to read up on the matter and to prepare a report, that is, a proposal as to how the European Parliament should decide on the legislative proposal. The rapporteur also negotiates with the Council of the European Union regarding the formulation of the law.

Decision in the European Parliament

After a legislative proposal has been considered by a committee, it is time for a debate and decision in the European Parliament. During such a meeting in plenary, that is, with all the members of the European Parliament, the rapporteur first presents the committee's proposed position on the matter. A debate is then held among the members, and finally the vote is held. The European Parliament's decisions are taken with the support of a majority of the members participating in the vote, unless otherwise stated in the EU treaties, that is the rules determining how the EU should work. In some cases, more stringent rules are required for decision-making. Decisions in the European Parliament are normally known as resolutions or legislative resolutions.

How an EU law is made – How does the EU make decisions

The work is led by the President

The work of the European Parliament is led by a President, who also represents the Parliament in various meetings. At summits in the European Council, the President of the European Parliament always holds an opening speech to the EU heads of state and government. The President is elected by the Parliament for a period of 2 1/2 years, corresponding to half a term of office. The current President is the Conservative Maltese Roberta Metsola. She holds the position of President until the next European elections in 2024.

The MEPs cooperate in groups according to their political affiliation. Together, parties from different member states with similar values form political groups. In order to form a political group, at least 23 members from at least a quarter of the member states are required. The MEPs who do not belong to any group are called non-attached members.

When the MEPs meet for debates and votes in Strasbourg or Brussels, they sit together in their political groups, not with their compatriots from other groups.

Swedish MEPs in political groups and committees

In the European Parliament, 21 of the 705 MEPs are from Sweden. They represent eight Swedish political parties. The Swedish MEPs belong to different political groups in the European Parliament. Most of the European Parliament's committees have Swedish members.

Different Swedish parties can be part of the same political group

The 21 Swedish MEPs all belong to one of the eight Swedish political parties represented in the European Parliament during the 2019–2024 term of office. At the same time, the parties are all part of one of the European Parliament's political groups. Different political parties can be part of the same political group in the European Parliament. Swedish MEPs from the Moderate Party and the Christian Democrats are part of the same political group and MEPs from the Centre Party are in the same political group as MEPs from the Liberal Party.

All MEPs on the European Parliament website

Each of the Swedish MEPs are also members of two or more of the European Parliament's committees, as ordinary members or substitutes. There are MEPs from Sweden in most of the committees.

The European Parliament is elected by the people

Elections to the European Parliament are held every five years and are commonly known as European elections. The citizens of Sweden and the other EU countries then elect the people who will represent them in the European Parliament. The next European elections will take place in 2024.

The European Parliament's office in Sweden

The European Parliament has a liaison office in each EU member state. The Swedish liaison office is located in Stockholm, and it provides information about the tasks of the European Parliament, how it works and about its political and legislative decisions. The Swedish liaison office represents the European Parliament as an institution, and does not represent any Swedish or political interests.