European Parliament
European Parliament : This is the assembly of the representatives of the 456 million European Union (EU) citizens (as of September 2004). Since 1979 European Members of,Parliament have been elected by direct universal suffrage and today total 732, distributed between EU Member States by reference to their population. The European Parliament's main functions are as follows: (1) it considers the European Commission's proposals and is associated with the European Council in the legislative process, in some cases as co-legislator, by means of various procedures (codecision procedure, cooperation procedure, assent, advisory opinion etc.); (2) it has the power of control over the EU's activities through its confirmation of the appointment of the Commission (and the right to censure it) and through the written and oral questions it can put to the Commission and the Council; (3) it shares budgetary powers with the Council in voting on the annual budget, rendering it enforceable through the President of Parliament's signature, and overseeing its implementation. It also appoints an Ombudsperson empowered to receive complaints from EU citizens concerning misadministration in the activities of the European Community institutions or bodies. Finally, it can set up temporary committees of inquiry, whose powers are not confined to examining the actions of the Community institutions but may also relate to actions by EU Member States in implementing Community policies. The Treaty of Amsterdam, which entered into force in 1999, simplified the various legislative procedures by virtually doing away with the cooperation procedure (it still applies in a few cases coming under the Title on Economic and Monetary Union) and considerably extending the codecision procedure. The Treaty of Nice, which entered into force in 2003, also enhanced Parliament's role as co-legislator by extending the codecision procedure and granted Parliament a right to bring actions before the Court of Justice of the European Union, under the same conditions as the other institutions. See: Treaties
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