1. European Parliament: organisation and competences

Parliament is currently the only European institution the members of which are elected by direct universal suffrage every 5 years. It is made up of 705 deputies from the 27 member countries in a number proportional to their population.



This is the current composition of the European Parliament: 

Current composition of the European Parliament

Source: European Parliament

This infographic summarises the powers currently attributed to the EP, mostly on the basis of the Lisbon Treaty

EP powers