The Parliament of Rights

Most of the work of the European Parliament is carried out by parliamentary https://www.europarl.europa.eu/committees/en/home, which are divided into standing and temporary.

The standing committees meet once or twice a month in Brussels, in sessions open to the public, and prepare legislative proposals to be voted on in plenary. Temporary and special committees are set up to address particular problems.

Here is the list of the EP committees: 

  

Source: European Parliament 2021

Committees vary in number of members and in importance, but the composition always reflects the weight of the political groups in parliament.

The committee responsible for anti-discrimination issues is one of the most important: LIBE- Civil liberties, justice and home affairs.

Rapporteur: This is the MEP who is instructed by their committee to prepare a report on the legislative proposal in question. Their task is to draft a text to be voted on within the commission and subsequently in the plenary session. While drafting a report, the rapporteur discusses with other MEPs and consults with experts at specially organised hearings.

Shadow rapporteur: To follow the progress of a report, political groups can appoint shadow rapporteurs responsible for the topic in their political group. They are therefore of vital importance in finding a compromise between several political groups.

Coordinator: Political groups appoint a representative in each committee as coordinator and spokesperson for the group. The coordinators mobilise the members of their respective group during the voting and appoint the rapporteurs and shadow rapporteurs.

Rapporteur for opinion: If a committee is asked for an opinion on a report prepared by another committee, a draftsman is appointed.

Parliamentary work in committees where amendments to legislative proposals are discussed and approved is illustrated in this video: