Wikipedia:Today's featured article/August 6, 2007



The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary body of the European Union. Together with the Council of the European Union, it forms the bicameral legislative branch of the Union's institutions; this is the highest legislative body within the Union and has been described by some as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world. While Union law does override national law, it is limited to specific policy areas within the competencies of the European Community. The Parliament is composed of 785 MEPs (Member of the European Parliament) who serve the second largest democratic electorate in the world (after India) and the largest trans-national democratic electorate in the world (492 million). It has been directly elected by universal suffrage every five years since 1979. Unlike most national parliaments, the European Parliament does not have the power of legislative initiative, and although the Parliament is the "first institution" of the European Union, the Council has greater powers over legislation where codecision procedure (equal rights of amendment and rejection) does not apply. It has however had control over the EU budget since the 1970s and has a veto over the appointment of the European Commission. (more...)

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