Direct elections to the European Parliament were a decisive victory for European citizens in 1976, with the first directly elected EP in action since 1979. But attempts to enact a uniform election procedure have failed miserably. So has the European Parliament in informing the public, if I did not miss something. I failed to find any relevant information about the common principles or the duties a...

What can EU law teach us about the powers of the European Parliament to investigate alleged contraventions or maladministration of European Community (European Union) law? We look at the current treaty provisions, the Treaty of Lisbon, detailed provisions, internal EP rules and a few examples of inquiries. *** Current treaty Article 193 of the Treaty establishing the European Community (TEC) fores...

The British population may be pleased to know that at least Members of Parliament are safe from having their jobs taken by people from other countries within the European Union. The law does not allow Citizens of other countries (including other European Union member states) to stand for election to become a Member of the United Kingdom Parliament. So although European Union Laws do not allow Gord...

Who he? The President of the European Parliament, that's who. And he has this to say: "The elections to the European Parliament are of a greatest importance". Well, ish. And this: "The European Parliament represents European shared values: The dignity of the human being, Human Rights, Peace, Freedom, Democracy, Justice, the Rule of Law, and the principles of solidarity and subsidiary (sic). T...

About legal materials related to the European Union. Just in time for the European Parliament elections, the European Union’s legislative portal Eur-Lex has published a new thematic file with legislative instruments, preparatory acts and other acts on the European Parliament. The thematic files are potentially useful for those who are interested in a certain area, but here I would like to ad...

This is an axample of the so called co-decision procedure, according to Article 251 of the Treaty establishing the European Community (TEC), when the European Parliament has proposed amendments to the common position of the Council of the European Union. The EP amendments require an absolute majority of the component members (one of the reasons why the European Parliament needs to find consensus s...

A data site maintained by Noise in the Wire, which aims to make more transparent to the public, information about voting patterns and behaviour in the European Parliament. Information is taken directly from the European Parliament website. The site is designed to enable members of the public to track the latest voting decisions in the European Parliament, access the latest texts voted on and get n...

Does a parliament legislate on government proposals on its own initiative? These are interesting questions at national level and the same things can be discussed at supra-national level with regard to the European Communities (European Union). From the European Economic Community to the possible unitary European Union development has been characterised by a delicate creation called the institution...

It is a promising sign. The European Parliament has reacted to reports on wide-spread sleaze. But the statement is an almost blanket denial. The issues are serious enough to merit space. First, let the EP speak. Then we try to evaluate the measures and trust of the European Parliament. *** European Parliament press statement On 24 February 2009 the European Parliament issued the following press re...

The Treaty of Lisbon would formally make the European Council into one of the institutions of the European Union. Article 13 of the amended Treaty on European Union (TEU) mentions the European Council right after the European Parliament, and Article 15 TEU contains the main provisions on its tasks, membership and President. This leads to other changes at treaty level and below. *** Current treaty ...