European Parliament
The
European Parliament is a democratically elected body. It plays a watchdog
role for the EU institutions and also has a part in the legislative process. Directly
elected every five years, the Parliament is made up of 736 members (MEPs) who
sit not in national blocks, but in eight political groups, which best reflect
the political ideology of the national party to which each member belongs. The UK has 72 seats
in Parliament.
The principal roles of the European Parliament are the examination and approval of European legislation where it enjoys equal footing with the European Council. It plays a key role in approving the EU budget, exercising democratic control over the other EU institutions, and has the power to set up committees of inquiry. The Parliament must agree to important international agreements such as trade or association agreements between the EU and third counties.
As with national parliaments, the European Parliament has parliamentary committees to deal with particular issues (foreign affairs, budget, development, environment and so on). European citizens can submit petitions directly to the European Parliament.
The European Parliament has a Committee on Development called DEVE.
Other committees of interest to development are the International Trade Committee, Foreign Affairs Committee (including a sub-committee on human rights), and the Women's Rights and Gender Equality Committee.
