The European Parliament

The European Parliament is directly elected by the citizens of the Union. It votes the Union’s budget and also legislates jointly with the Council of Ministers across a wide range of policy areas. The EP also has a number of supervisory functions and offers a forum for general political debate. Sessions of the European Parliament can be watched online.

The current European Parliament was elected in June 2009 for a five-year term ending in 2014 and consists of 754 Members of European Parliament (MEPs). Representation in the European Parliament broadly reflects a Member State’s population. Ireland has 12 MEPs selected from four electoral constituencies: Dublin, East, North-West and South.

The European Parliament Office in Ireland is open to the public and provides information on the EU’s activities in Ireland.