European Parliament: Difference between revisions

{{for-multi|the body of the Council of Europe|Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe|the upcominglast elections|2024 European Parliament election}}

| house_type = [[European Union legislative procedure|''De facto'' lower house<br />of bicameral legislature]]

| election1 = 18 January 2022

'''First Vice-President:'''<br />[[Othmar Karas]], EPP<br />

'''other Vice-Presidents:''' ''[[Vice-President of the European Parliament#9th Parliament|See List]]''<br />since 18 January 2022

| political_groups1 =

* {{Color box|{{party color|European People's Party}}|border=silver}} [[European People's Party|EPP]] (168)

* {{Color box|{{party color|Non-Inscrits}}|border=silver}} Unaffiliated (4)

* {{Color box|{{party color|European Christian Political Movement}}|border=silver}} [[European Christian Political Movement|ECPM]] (2)

* {{Color box|{{party color|Independent politician}}|border=silver}} [[Independent politician|Ind.]] (2)

* {{Color box|{{party color|Party of European Socialists}}|border=silver}} [[Party of European Socialists|PES]] (127)

* {{Color box|{{party color|Non-Inscrits}}|border=silver}} Unaffiliated (8)

* {{Color box|{{party color|Independent politician}}|border=silver}} [[Independent politician|Ind.]] (4)

* {{Color box|{{party color|Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party}}|border=silver}} [[Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party|ALDE]] (60)

* {{Color box|{{party color|Non-Inscrits}}|border=silver}} Unaffiliated (25)

* {{Color box|{{party color|European Democratic Party}}|border=silver}} [[European Democratic Party|EDP]] (10)

* {{Color box|{{party color|Independent politician}}|border=silver}} [[Independent politician|Ind.]] (6)

* {{Color box|{{party color|Volt Europa}}|border=silver}} [[Volt Europa|Volt]] (1)

* {{Color box|{{party color|European Green Party}}|border=silver}} [[European Green Party|EGP]] (51)

* {{Color box|{{party color|European Free Alliance}}|border=silver}} [[European Free Alliance|EFA]] (7)

* {{Color box|{{party color|Independent politician}}|border=silver}} [[Independent politician|Ind.]] (6)

* {{Color box|{{party color|European Pirate Party}}|border=silver}} [[European Pirate Party|PPEU]] (4)

* {{Color box|{{party color|Non-Inscrits}}|border=silver}} Unaffiliated (3)

* {{Color box|{{party color|Volt Europa}}|border=silver}} [[Volt Europa|Volt]] (1)

* {{Color box|{{party color|European Conservatives and Reformists Party}}|border=silver}} [[European Conservatives and Reformists Party|ECR]] (53)

* {{Color box|{{party color|Non-Inscrits}}|border=silver}} Unaffiliated (11)

* {{Color box|{{party color|European Free Alliance}}|border=silver}} [[European Free Alliance|EFA]] (3)

* {{Color box|{{party color|European Christian Political Movement}}|border=silver}} [[European Christian Political Movement|ECPM]] (2)

* {{Color box|{{party color|Identity and Democracy Party}}|border=silver}} [[Identity and Democracy Party|ID]] (48)

* {{Color box|{{party color|Non-Inscrits}}|border=silver}} Unaffiliated (1)

* {{Color box|{{party color|Party of the European Left}}|border=silver}} [[Party of the European Left|PEL]] (21)

* {{Color box|{{party color|Non-Inscrits}}|border=silver}} Unaffiliated (14)

* {{Color box|{{party color|Animal Politics EU}}|border=silver}} [[Animal Politics EU|APEU]] (1)

* {{Color box|{{party color|Independent politician}}|border=silver}} [[Independent politician|Ind.]] (1)

* {{Color box|{{party color|Non-Inscrits}}|border=silver}} Unaffiliated (39)

* {{Color box|{{party color|Independent politician}}|border=silver}} [[Independent politician|Ind.]] (17)

* {{Color box|{{party color|Party of European Socialists}}|border=silver}} [[Party of European Socialists|PES]] (3)

* {{Color box|{{party color|European Christian Political Movement}}|border=silver}} [[European Christian Political Movement|ECPM]] (1)

* {{Color box|{{party color|European Free Alliance}}|border=silver}} [[European Free Alliance|EFA]] (1)

| voting_system1 = Chosen by member state.<br />Systems include:

* ''de facto'' [[FPTP|FPTP/SMP]]<br />(only in the [[German-speaking electoral college|German-speaking]]<br />[[German-speaking electoral college|electoral college]] in Belgium)

| last_election1 = [[20192024 European Parliament election|23–266–9 MayJune 20192024]]

| next_election1 = [[2024 European Parliament election|6–9 June 2024]]2029

| motto = ''[[Motto of the European Union|In varietate concordia]]''<br />(United in diversity)

| session_room = European Parliament Strasbourg Hemicycle - Diliffhemicycle.jpg

The '''European Parliament''' ('''EP''') is one of the three [[Legislature|legislative bodies]] of the [[European Union]] and one of its seven [[Institutions of the European Union|institutions]]. Together with the [[Council of the European Union]] (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts European legislation, following a proposal by the [[European Commission]]. The Parliament is composed of 705720 [[Member of the European Parliament|members]] (MEPs), due to rise to 720 after the June 2024 European elections, from a previous 705 MEPs. It represents the second-largest democratic electorate in the world (after the [[Parliament of India]]), with an electorate of around 375&nbsp;million eligible [[Voting|voters]] in 20092024.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/07/AR2009060702402.html |title=Conservatives Post Gains In European Elections |author1=Brand, Constant |author2=Wielaard, Robert |agency=Associated Press |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=8 June 2009 |access-date=17 August 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=Ian Traynor |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2009/jun/07/eu-elections-social-democrats |title=Misery for social democrats as voters take a turn to the right |work=The Guardian |location=UK |date=7 June 2009 |access-date=17 August 2010}}</ref><ref name="18 new MEPs take their seats">{{cite web |url=http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/headlines/content/20120103MUN34829/html/18-new-MEPs-take-their-seats |title=18 new MEPs take their seats |publisher=European Parliament |date=10 January 2012 |access-date=14 February 2012 |archive-date=11 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130511172955/http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/headlines/content/20120103MUN34829/html/18-new-MEPs-take-their-seats |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The European Parliament has legislative power in that the adoption of EU legislation normally requires its approval, and that of the Council, in what amounts to a bicameral legislature. However, it does not formally possess the [[Right of initiative (legislative)|right of initiative]] (i.e. the right to formally initiate the legislative procedure) in the way that most [[National parliaments of the European Union|national parliaments]] of the member states do, as the right of initiative is a prerogative of the European Commission.<ref name="Parliament's powers"/><ref name="Pot initiative"/> Nonetheless, the Parliament and the Council each have the right to request the Commission to initiate the legislative procedure and put forward a proposal.<ref>Articles 225 and 241 of the [[Treaty on the Functioning of the EU]]</ref>

The [[president of the European Parliament]] is the body's [[Speaker (politics)|speaker]] and presides over the multi-party chamber. The five largest political groups are the [[European People's Party Group]] (EPP), the [[Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats]] (S&D), [[Renew Europe]] (previously [[Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe group|ALDE]]), the [[Greens–European Free Alliance|Greens/European Free Alliance]] (Greens/EFA) and [[Identity and Democracy]] (ID). The last EU-wide election was [[20192024 European Parliament election|held in 20192024]].

The Parliament gained more powers from successive revisions of the EU treaties, notably through the extension of the [[ordinary legislative procedure]] (originally called the codecision procedure),<ref name="ENA legis">{{cite web|title=Power to legislate of the European Parliament|url=http://www.cvce.eu/obj/power_to_legislate_of_the_european_parliament-en-4f35fdb4-323e-49a0-a138-5b11d701d9a3.html|publisher=[[Centre virtuel de la connaissance sur l'Europe|CVCE]]|access-date=19 April 2013}}</ref> and the right to approve international agreements through the consent procedure.

In 2007, for the first time, Justice Commissioner [[Franco Frattini]] included Parliament in talks on the second [[Schengen Information System]] even though, in this field at the time, MEPs only needed to be consulted on parts of the package. After that experiment, Frattini indicated he would like to include Parliament in all justice and criminal matters, informally pre-empting the new powers they were due to gain in 2009 as part of the [[Treaty of Lisbon]].<ref name="Frattini 2009">{{cite web |last=Beunderman |first=Mark |title=Frattini seeks to apply new EU treaty rules before 2009 |publisher=EU Observer |date=9 November 2007 |url=http://euobserver.com/9/25117 |access-date=9 November 2007 }}</ref>

The Lisbon Treaty came into force on 1 December 2009, granting Parliament powers over the entire [[Budget of the European Union|EU budget]], making Parliament's [[Ordinary legislative procedure|legislative powers]] equal to the Council's in nearly all areas and describing Parliament's vote on an incoming [[President of the European Commission|Commission President]] Commission President as an "election", with the European Council having to make its proposal to Parliament in light of the results of the European elections.<ref name="Constitution info"/>

On gender balance, some 37 percent of MEPs were women in the 2014-19 Parliament and 40 percent in the 2019-24 Parliament, a greater propostionproposition than in most national Parliaments in Member States <ref>Corbett, Richard; Jacobs, Francis; Shackleton, Michael (2016). The European Parliament (9th ed.). London: John Harper Publishing. ISBN 978-0-9564508-5-2. The same three co-authors have written every edition since the first in 1990.</ref> In January 2019, MEPs supported proposals to boost opportunities for women and tackle sexual harassment in the European Parliament.<ref>{{cite news|title=MEPs follow UK's lead to promote gender equality|url=http://conservativeeurope.com/news/gender-equality|work=Conservative Europe|date=15 January 2019|access-date=29 January 2019|archive-date=23 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190323130356/http://conservativeeurope.com/news/gender-equality|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In a few areas, ''special legislative procedures'' apply. These include justice and home affairs, budget and taxation, and certain aspects of other policy areas, such as the fiscal aspects of environmental policy. In these areas, the Council or Parliament decide law alone after consulting the other (or with its consent).<ref name="lisbon explain"/>

There are different types of [[European Union law#Legislation]].<ref name="Parliament's powers"/> The strongest act is a [[Regulation (European Union)|regulation]], an [[Act of Parliament|act]] or [[Statutory law|law]] which is directly applicable in its entirety. Then there are [[Directive (European Union)|directives]] which bind member states to certain goals which they must achieve. They do this through their own laws and hence have room to manoeuvre in deciding upon them. A [[European Union decision|decision]] is an instrument which is applicable to a particular person or group. Institutions may also issue [[European Union recommendation|recommendations and opinions]] which are merely non-binding, declarations.<ref>{{cite web|title=Community legal instruments |publisher=European Parliament |url=http://europa.eu/scadplus/glossary/community_legal_instruments_en.htm |access-date=18 September 2007 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070708114002/http://europa.eu/scadplus/glossary/community_legal_instruments_en.htm |archive-date=8 July 2007 |df=dmy }}</ref>

The Parliament also has the power to censure the Commission by a two-thirds majority which will force the resignation of the entire Commission from office. As with approval, this power has never been explicitly used, but when faced with such a vote, the [[Santer Commission]] then [[Santer Commission#Resignation|resigned of their own accord]].

The [[European Ombudsman]] is elected by the Parliament to deal with public complaints about maladministration (administrative irregularities, unfairness, discrimination, abuse of power, failure to reply, refusal of information or unnecessary delay) by any EU institution or body.<ref name="supervisory"/>

The [[Member of Parliament|parliamentarians]] are known in English as [[Members of the European Parliament]] (MEPs). They are elected every five years by [[universal suffrage|universal adult suffrage]] and sit according to political allegiance. About 40 percent are women. Before the [[1979 European Parliament election|first direct elections, in 1979]], they were appointed by their national parliaments.<ref name="ENA composition"/><ref name="EP Members">{{cite web|title=Members|publisher=European Parliament|url=http://www.europarl.europa.eu/parliament/public/staticDisplay.do?id=45&pageRank=3 |access-date=27 October 2007}}</ref>

Under the [[Treaty of Lisbon|Lisbon Treaty]], [[Apportionment in the European Parliament|seats are allocated]] to each state according to population and the maximum number of members is set at 751.<ref name="EUO Lisbon">{{cite web|last=Goldirova|first=Renata|title=EU agrees new 'Treaty of Lisbon'|date=19 October 2007|publisher=EU Observer|url=http://euobserver.com/9/25001|access-date=19 November 2007}}</ref> Since 1 February 2020 and the United Kingdom's [[Brexit|leaving the EU]], [https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/faq/12/how-many-meps 705 MEPs] sit in the European Parliament. It will riserose to 720 after the 2024 elections.

Given that the Parliament does not form the government in the traditional sense of many parliamentary systems, majorities are built issue by issue. Generally, this is along broadly [[consensus democracy|consensual]] lines with dynamic coalitions<ref>[http://aei.pitt.edu/97364/1/wp75_marie.pdf European Parliament: Is the grand coalition really a thing of the past?, Awenig Marié, 2019]</ref> rather than [[majority rule]] of competing parties and coalitions.

These coalitions are usually involve the [[European People's Party]] and the Socialist and Democrat Group of the [[Party of European Socialists]] who tend to co-operate to find compromises between them and then bring in others. Their relationship has been described as a [[grand coalition]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Settembri |first=Pierpaolo |title=Is the European Parliament competitive or consensual&nbsp;... "and why bother"? |url=http://www.fedtrust.co.uk/admin/uploads/FedT_workshop_Settembri.pdf |publisher=Federal Trust |date=2 February 2007 |access-date=7 October 2007 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071026181653/http://www.fedtrust.co.uk/admin/uploads/FedT_workshop_Settembri.pdf |archive-date=26 October 2007 |df=dmy }}</ref> However, this does not always produce agreement, and each may instead try to build other alliances, the EPP normally with other centre-right or right wing Groups and the PES with centre-left or left wing groups. Sometimes, the Liberal (Renew Europe) Group is then in the pivotal position.

Elections have taken place, directly in every member state, every five years since 1979. {{As of|2019}} there have been nine elections. When a nation joins mid-term, a by-election will be held to elect their representatives. This has happened six times, most recently when Croatia joined in 2013. Elections take place on over a four -day period from a Thursday to a Sunday (each Member State votes on the day of its choice). Member States choose their electoral system within common guidlinesguidelines, notably that the suffrage must be universal and that seats are allocated by [[Proportional representation|proportional]]. This includes determining constituencies: while most Member States have a national constituencies, some divide their allocation between regions. Seats are [[Apportionment in the European Parliament|allocated to member states]] according to their population, since 2014 with no state having more than 96, but no fewer than 6, to maintain proportionality.<ref>{{cite web|title=The European Parliament: electoral procedures |publisher=European Parliament |url=http://www.europarl.europa.eu/facts/1_3_4_en.htm |access-date=12 June 2007 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070617144910/http://www.europarl.europa.eu/facts/1_3_4_en.htm |archive-date=17 June 2007 }}</ref>

[[European political parties]] have the exclusive right to campaign during the European elections (as opposed to their corresponding EP groups).<ref>{{cite web |title=European political parties |url=http://www.europarl.europa.eu/contracts-and-grants/en/20150201PVL00101/Political-parties-and-foundations |access-date=2022-10-18 |website=europarl.europa.eu |publisher=European Parliament}}</ref> There have been a number of proposals designed to attract greater public attention to the elections. One such innovation in the 2014 elections was that the [[European political party|pan-European political parties]] announced, ahead of the elections, their candidates for [[President of the European Commission|president]] of the [[European Commission|Commission]], the so-called ''Spitzenkandidaten'' (German, "leading candidates" or "top candidates"). The President of the European Commission is nominated by the European Council, representing the governments of the member states, and while there is no obligation for them to nominate the successful "candidate", the Lisbon Treaty states that they should take account of the results of the elections when choosing whom to nominate, and the candidate they propose must be endorsed by a majority of members of the European Parliament.<ref>[[Richard Corbett]] 'The European Parliament and the Spitzenkandidaten Process', in Matilde Ceron, Thomas Christiansen, Dionyssis G. Dimitrakopoulos (eds) 'The Politicisation of the European Commission’sCommission's Presidency: Spitzenkandidaten and Beyond' ISBN 978-3-031-48172-7 (print) and ISBN 978-3-031-48173-4 (eBook)</ref>

Formally, the European Parliament has an annual "session", divided into monthly "part-sessions" and daily "sittings". In practice, this entails a monthly cycle with two committee weeks where matters are discussed in committees, political group weeks for members to discuss work within their political groups, and session weeks where members spend {{frac|3|1|2}} days in [[Strasbourg]] for part-sessions. In addition six 2-day part sessions are organised in [[Brussels]] throughout the year. Four weeks a year are allocated as constituency week to allow members to do exclusively constituency work, which they otherwise have to do at weekends. Finally there are no meetings planned during the summer weeks.<ref>{{cite web|title=European Parliament 2007 calendar of activities|publisher=European Parliament|url=http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sed/doc/ext/hemicycle/PLAN_BRU.pdf|access-date=14 September 2009 }}</ref>

Members sit in a [[Hemicycle (chamber)|hemicycle]] according to their political groups (in the Common Assembly, prior to 1958, members sat alphabetically<ref name="Corbett 167"/>) who are ordered mainly by left to right. All desks are equipped with microphones, headphones for listening to interpretaion, and electronic voting equipment. The leaders of the Groups sit on the front benches, and in the very centre is a podium for guest speakers. The remaining half of the circular chamber is primarily composed of the raised area where the President and staff sit. Further benches are provided between the sides of this area and the MEPs, these are taken up by the Council on the far left and the Commission on the far right. Both the Brussels and Strasbourg hemicycle roughly follow this layout with only minor differences.<ref>{{cite web|title=Brussels seating plan|publisher=European Parliament|url=http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sce/data/fast_access/doc//PLAN_BRX_30%20JAN_2008.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080227035017/http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sce/data/fast_access/doc//PLAN_BRX_30%20JAN_2008.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=27 February 2008|access-date=12 June 2007 }}</ref> The hemicycle design is a compromise between the different Parliamentary systems. The British-based system has the different groups directly facing each other while the French-based system is a semicircle (and the traditional German system had all members in rows facing a rostrum for speeches). Although the design is mainly based on a semicircle, the opposite ends of the spectrum do still face each other.<ref name="Corbett 167">{{Cite book|last=Corbett|first=Richard|author-link=Richard Corbett|author2=Francis Jacobs|author3=Michael Shackleton|title=The European Parliament|edition=7|year=2007|place=London|publisher=John Harper|isbn=978-0-9665544-7-2|page=167|author-link2=Francis Jacobs}}</ref>

The Parliament can also set up sub-committees (e.g. the [[Subcommittee on Human Rights]]) and temporary committees to deal with a specific topic (e.g. the Special Committee on Foreign Interference in Democratic Processes in the European Union, 2020-232020–23). The chairs of the Committees co-ordinate their work through the "[[Committees of the European Parliament#Conference of Committee Chairs|Conference of Committee Chairmen]]".<ref name="Organised"/>

The [[Intergroups in the European Parliament]] are informal fora which gather MEPs from various political groups around any topic. They do not express the view of the European Parliament. They serve a double purpose: to address a topic which is transversal to several committees and in a less formal manner. Their daily secretariat can be run either through the office of MEPs or through interest groups, be them corporate lobbies or NGOs. The favored access to MEPs which the organization running the secretariat enjoys can be one explanation to the multiplication of Intergroups in the 1990s.<ref>[http://www.cairn.info/revue-politique-europeenne-2003-1-page-123.htm Dutoit Laurent, « L'influence au sein du Parlement européen : les intergroupes », Politique européenne 1/2003 (n° 9), p. 123-142].</ref> They are now strictly regulated and financial support, direct or otherwise (via Secretariat staff, for example), must be officially specified in a declaration of financial interests.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.europarl.europa.eu/pdf/intergroupes/legislature_8/DecisionofCoPof16Dec1999-Rules_governing_the_establishment_of_integroupes.pdf|title=Article 6, Rules governing the establishment of intergroups, decision of the Conference of Presidents, 16 december 1999 (last updated 11 September 2014)}}</ref> <ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/RULES-9-2023-11-01-RULE-035_EN.html | title=Rules of Procedure of the European Parliament - Rule 35 - Intergroups - November 2023 }}</ref> Also Intergroups are established or renewed at the beginning of each legislature through a specific process. Indeed, the proposal for the constitution or renewal of an Intergroup must be supported by at least 3 political groups who can each support a limited number of proposals in proportion to their size (for example, for the legislature 2014–2019, the EPP or S&D political groups could support 22 proposals whereas the Greens/EFA or the EFDD political groups only 7).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.europarl.europa.eu/pdf/intergroupes/legislature_8/DecisionofCoPof16Dec1999-Rules_governing_the_establishment_of_integroupes.pdf|title=Annex 1, Rules governing the establishment of intergroups, decision of the Conference of Presidents, 16 december 1999 (last updated 11 September 2014)}}</ref>

A [[European Union]] correspondent, Jack Parrock confirmed on the basis of close sources to Qatar that the UAE was involved in plotting the corruption scandal. Parrock said the official investigations, leaked documents and a number of European sources have confirmed the Emirati involvement in planning the alleged bribery case against Qatar. In a separate report by The European Microscope, documents revealed that the UAE made extensive efforts to woo multiple members of the European Parliament. Abu Dhabi intensified the lobbying campaign to build its support within the European Parliament and to push its members to speak in favour of the Emirates.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://emiratesleaks.com/2022/12/revealed-uae-involved-in-the-so-called-qatar-corruption-scandal-in-the-eu/?lang=en|title=Revealed: UAE involved in the so-called Qatar corruption scandal in the EU|access-date=14 December 2022|website=Emirati Leaks|date=14 December 2022|archive-date=2 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200102225119/https://emiratesleaks.com/2022/12/revealed-uae-involved-in-the-so-called-qatar-corruption-scandal-in-the-eu/?lang=en|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite tweet |user=jackeparrock |number=1602966494450778113 |date=14 December 2022 |title=Breaking: Confirmed sources close to power #Qatar have told me that in the government in Doha, 'everyone believes the #UAE is behind it [hatching a conspiracy]', in relation to the escalating corruption scandal engulfing the European Parliament. #Kaili #QatarGate |access-date=14 December 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.watanserb.com/2022/12/14/مصادر-حكومية-قطرية-تؤكد-وقوف-الإمارات/ |title=مصادر حكومية قطرية تؤكد وقوف الإمارات وراء مؤامرة ضدها في البرلمان الأوروبي |trans-title=Qatari government sources confirm that the UAE is behind a plot against it in the European Parliament |date=14 December 2022 |first1=Salem Muhammad |last1=Hanafi |newspaper=[[Watan (newspaper)|Watan]] |language=ar}}</ref> After Qatari officials, an Italian web publisher, Dagospia alleged that the UAE's plan against Qatar involved Tahnoun bin Zayed. It is alleged that the brother of UAE President [[Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan]] gave Belgium the tips that lead to the investigations against Qatar.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.dagospia.com/rubrica-29/cronache/emiri-contro-ndash-ogni-giorno-che-passa-prende-sempre-piu-corpo-336537.htm |title=Emiri Contro – Ogni Giorno Che Passa, Prende Sempre Più Corpo L'ipotesi Che Dietro Al Qatargate Ci Sia La Manona Degli Emirati Arabi Uniti. Un'ipotesi Ormai Ventilata Apertamente Da Doha - A Fornire La "Soffiata" Al Belgio Sarebbe Stato Tahnoun Bin Zayed Mohammed Al Nahyan, Fratello Del Presidente Emiratino, Mohamed Bin Zayed – Tahnoun, Consigliere Per La Sicurezza Nazionale, È Il Capo Dei Servizi Emiratini, E Recentemente Si È Parlato Di Lui Per Una Tentata Operazione In Israele: Voleva Comprare Il Colosso Assicurativo "Phoenix Group", Ma…Ma... |trans-title=Emirs against – Every day that passes, the hypothesis that the Manona of the United Arab Emirates is behind the Qatargate is gaining more and more traction. A hypothesis now openly aired by Doha - Tahnoun Bin Zayed Mohammed Al Nahyan, brother of the UAE president, would have provided the "tip" to Belgium - Tahnoun, national security adviser, is the head of the UAE services, And Recently There Was Talk Of Him For An Attempted Operation In Israel: He Wanted To Buy The Insurance Giant "Phoenix Group", But…But... |website=Dagospia |date=21 December 2022 }} [https://dagospia.com/la-strategia-degli-emiri-per-il-qatargate-negare-tutto-e-urlare-al-complotto-336537 mobile url]</ref>

Individual MEPs are the main point of contact for citizens with the Parliament. They normally have an office in their constiuency and travel back at the end of every week (and during weeks without parliamentary meetings) to participate in an array of meetings, events, interviews, visits and suchlike with voters, businesses, trade unions, local authoritesauthorities and media.

The Parliament itself maintains a detailed website,<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.europarl.europa.eu/about-parliament/en/home | title=About Parliament }}</ref> receives around one million visitiorsvisitors a year, and streamlines debates and committee meetings.