Eu parliament how does it work

In almost all areas, legislation is proposed and written by the European Commission. It represents the interests of the European Union as a whole, yet its officials, the Commissioners, are selected by the member states— for instance, the UK is represented by Lord Hill , Commissioner for Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union.

Once appointed, Commissioners no longer represent their member states, but rather work together for the interests of the Union. Appointments to the Commission are confirmed by the European Parliament. The Commission also has important executive tasks alongside its role in initiating legislation, such as monitoring whether member states are complying with EU law, and administering competition law to regulate monopolies.

Under the co-decision, the European Commission, Council of the European Union and European Parliament all have a role to play in passing legislation.

The Commission proposes legislation. Neither the European Parliament nor the Council of the European Union can adopt legislation without the consent of the other. A piece of legislation is proposed by the Commission. It then goes to the European Parliament for a first reading, where it first progresses through a committee, and then to the plenary i.

The Parliament decides by simple majority. Legislation is then passed on for a first reading in the Council of the European Union by the relevant ministers, who are supported by working groups and the Committee of Permanent Representatives Coreper below them. Some areas still demand unanimity i. It means member states share their sovereignty.

Now the legislation is returned to the European Parliament for a second reading. It may accept the Council position, adopting the act.

It may make further amendments to the Council position, and send them to a second reading in the Council. As a last resort, it may reject the Council position, meaning the act is not adopted. This leaves the Commission free to make a new proposal.

Here, the Council and European Parliament come together to try to agree a joint text. If they agree on a common position and it is adopted by the EP and Council, the legislation is adopted. If they fail to agree a joint text or it is rejected by either the Council or EP, the act is not adopted. Without a basic understanding of how the EU makes laws, it is difficult to make a reasoned judgement about the democratic quality of its practices.

In this way, the institutions of the EU are collaborative. They work together in policy areas agreed unanimously by member states via treaties to advance the common interests of member states and their citizens.

As a result, although this cooperative process is complex, it seems far less un-British, and even far less un-democratic, than the Leave campaign suggests. For more information on our undergraduate programmes, please visit the Department of Government website. Note: This article gives the views of the author, and not the position of the Department of Government blog, nor of the London School of Economics. Your email address will not be published. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Notify me of new posts by email.

The European Parliament is the only European institution that directly represents the voice of the million EU citizens. Since Members of the European Parliament MEPs have been elected through direct universal suffrage every five years. Each EU Member State decides how the European elections are organised in its own country either on a regional or national basis , and under its own electoral laws and procedures.

Yet, all Member States follow the same system of proportional representation. You can find further information translated in all the EU languages on the European Parliament website.

Read more about the composition and procedures of work of the European Parliament. The role of the European Parliament has increased with the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty.

MEPs can develop some contacts with their national governments to promote the interests of older people. You can find the list of MEPs for each country at the following link.