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European Parliament
Context:
The June 6-9 European Parliament elections, which involved 51% of 27 EU countries’ electors, saw rightwing and far-right parties gain at the expense of mainly Left and liberal parties.
The European Parliament (EP) is the main institution of the EU, providing democratic legitimacy to its activities.
- President: Roberta Metsola
- Established in: 1952 as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and Steel Community, in 1962 as the European Parliament, and first direct elections in 1979.
- Location: Strasbourg (France), Brussels (Belgium), Luxembourg.
- The EU is a unique supranational entity where member states share sovereignty for collective power and global influence.
- The main EU institutions include:
- The European Parliament
- The Council of the European Union
- The European Commission (EC)
- It is directly elected by EU voters every 5 years.
- Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) are directly elected by the citizens of the 27 member states.
- It has 720 seats allocated on the principle of ‘degraded proportionality’, where smaller states elect more MEPs in proportion to their population.
Functions of the European Parliament:
- Legislative role: Adopting and amending EU legislation with the EU Council.
- Supervisory role: Supervises the functioning of all other EU institutions and bodies, particularly the European Commission (EC), and approves or rejects appointments to the EC.
- Budgetary role: Shares authority over the EU budget with the Council, influencing EU spending.
- The Parliament also ratifies international agreements, including those on trade and investment.
- The new Parliament will shape the EU’s direction for the next five years on issues.
- Like climate change, migration, the Green Deal, digitisation, support for Ukraine, and policies toward Russia, China, the Middle East, and the Indo-Pacific.
Key players and political groups:
- EPP (European People’s Party): Includes centre-right conservative parties like Germany’s CDU.
- S&D (Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats): Includes centre-left socialist parties like Spain’s Socialist Workers’ Party.
- RE (Renew Europe): Includes centrist liberal parties like Macron’s Renaissance party.
- ECR (European Conservatives and Reformists): Includes right-wing parties like Meloni’s Brothers of Italy.
- ID (Identity and Democracy): Includes far-right parties like Marine Le Pen’s National Rally.
- Greens/European Free Alliance (Greens/EFA) and The Left (GUE/NGL): Represent environmental and leftist groups.
Impact on EU policies:
- A stronger right-wing presence would affect policies on immigration, national identity, and EU scepticism.
- Possibility of tighter border controls and stricter immigration rules.
- Examination of the high costs associated with green transition goals, despite overall support for climate action.
