What Is the European Parliament?
The directly elected EU institution and how it represents citizens.
The only directly elected EU institution
The European Parliament is the only EU institution directly elected by citizens. Elections take place every five years. The current Parliament (2024-2029) has 720 members representing all 27 EU member states.
What does the Parliament do?
The Parliament has three main roles: it passes EU laws together with the Council, it supervises EU institutions (especially the Commission), and it approves the EU budget.
Political groups
MEPs sit in political groups based on political affiliation, not nationality. The largest groups are the European People's Party (EPP, centre-right), the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D, centre-left), and Renew Europe (liberal).
Committees
Most work happens in committees. There are 20 standing committees covering topics from foreign affairs to fisheries. Committees prepare reports that are then voted on by the full Parliament.
How MEPs vote
In plenary sessions, MEPs vote on legislation, budgets, and resolutions. Roll-call votes are recorded and published. GovLens tracks these votes so citizens can see how their representatives voted.