1. THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

2. Structure
Parliament is the legislative arm of the EU, its offices divided between Brussels, Strasbourg, and Luxembourg, and is primarily supranational in character. It has five components:
Members of the European Parliament (MEPs).
The president.
The Secretariat.
Parliamentary committees.

3. MEPs
Parliament has 736 MEPs elected by voters in member states for fixed five-year terms.
MEPs are distributed among the member states roughly in proportion to population, with Germany having 99 and Malta having 5.
Once elected, MEPs organize themselves into political groups or may sit as independents.

4. The President
Parliament is headed by a president elected from among party groups in Parliament for renewable five-year terms. Responsibilities of the president include:
To open, chair, and close EP debates.
To pass legislative proposals to Parliamentary committees
To represent Parliament in dealings with other institutions, including national legislatures.
To manage the work of the EP.
The president should come from the largest political group in the EP, but none has yet won a majority, so the five-year term is typically divided between presidents from each of the two major political groups.

5. Committees
The detailed work of the EP is undertaken by 20 standing committees, temporary committees and committees of inquiry.
Work supported by a Secretariat.
The character of the EP is determined by a combination of supranationalism, nationalism and ideology.

6. Parliamentary Functions
Under the ordinary legislative procedure, the EP shares power with the Council of Ministers over discussion and approval of new legislative proposals, and of the EU budget.
May encourage the Commission to develop new proposals.
Commission, Council of Ministers and presidency of CoM regularly report to the EP on their activities.
Right to confirm or reject the European Council’s nominees for president of the European Commission and HR for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.
Right of approval over appointments to the College of Commissioners, European Central Bank, Court of Auditors.