Individually, or as a group, European citizens have the right to petition the Parliament and can seek redress of their grievances on matters that fall within the European Union’s sphere of responsibility. The Parliament has also appointed an ombudsman, Mr. Jacob Magnus Soderman, to investigate allegations of maladministration brought by citizens. The European Parliament attaches a high priority to maintaining links with national parliaments through regular meetings between speakers and chairpersons and between parliamentary committees. These contacts are further enlivened by discussion of Union policies in major conclaves knows as ‘parliamentary assizes’. What is the European Parliament?



The European Parliament is the directly - elected democratic expression of the political will of the peoples of the European Union. Representing 370 million citizens of the Union, its primary objectives are like those of any parliament – to pass good laws and to scrutinize and control the use of executive power. In recent years its responsibilities have been gradually widened and its powers strengthened first by the Single Act of 1987 and then by the Treaty on European Union of 1993. The most important powers of the European Parliament fall into three categories: legislative power, power over the budget, and supervisions of the executive. Legislative power

Originally, the Treaty of Rome (1957) gave the Parliament only a consultative role, allowing the Commission to propose and the Council of Ministers to decide legislation. Subsequent Treaties have extended Parliament’s influence to amending and even adopting legislation so that the Parliament and Council now share the power of decision in a large number of areas. Budgetary power

The European Parliament approves the Union’s budget each year. The budgetary procedure allows Parliament to propose modifications and amendments to the Commission’s initial proposals and to the position taken by the Member States in Council. On agricultural spending and costs arising from international agreements the Council has the last word, but on other expenditure – for example, education, social programmes, regional funds, environmental and cultural projects – Parliament decides in close cooperation with the Council. In exceptional circumstances, the European Parliament has even voted to reject the budget when is wishes have not been adequately respected. Indeed, it is the President of the Parliament who sings the budged into law. Supervision of the executive

The parliament exercises overall political supervisions of the way the Union’s policies are conducted.