European Parliamentary elections

European Parliament elections have taken place since the European Parliament became democratically elected in 1979.

The European Parliament, which has 732 directly elected members (MEPs), including 78 from the UK (reducing to 72 from 2009), plays an increasingly important role in the legislative process.

The Parliament is consulted about major decisions and has substantial shared power with the Council of the European Union over the EC budget. In areas of legislation its role varies between:

• consultation, where it can influence but does not have the final say in the content of legislation
• co-operation and assent procedures, where its influence is greater
• co-decision, introduced by the Maastricht Treaty and extended in the Amsterdam Treaty, where a proposal requires the agreement of both the Council and the European Parliament

The Parliament meets in full session in Strasbourg for about one week every month, although its committee work normally takes place in Brussels.

Elections to the European Parliament take place every five years, most recently being in June 2009. In the United Kingdom, these were held under a proportional representation system, bringing the country into line with the other Member States.

The next scheduled European Parliamentary elections take place in June 2014.