What is the European Parliament?
The European Parliament is a legislative body of the European Union. It has 751 members and is headed by a president and 14 vice presidents. It has three main powers:
○ Legislative
○ Budgetary
○ Oversight of executive branch (The Commission)
The European Parliament is one of the European Union Institutions:
1. Council of Europe
2. European Court of Human Rights
3. European Parliament
4. European Commission
5. European Council
6. European Court of Justice
The European Parliament is a co-legislator with the Council of the European Union. Negotiates and adopts EU legislation together with the Council of the European Union.
Members of the European Parliament are directly elected by the EU Citizens.
Responsibilities of the parliament include legislative development, supervisory oversight of other institutions, democratic representation, development of the budget.
The Charter of Fundamental Rights was signed by Presidents of European Parliament, Council and Commission on 7 Dec 2000 in Nice, France.