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Elections for the European Parliament take place every five years. The election is scheduled for 22 May 2014.
Europe is getting ready for European Parliament elections in May. Elections for the European Parliament take place every five years. The election is scheduled for 22 May 2014.
As well as as electing 751 MEPs (down from the current 766) the 2009 Lisbon Treaty means that voters will have more of a say in the appointment of the next Commission president.
The European Parliament represents people living in the 28 member countries of the European Union (EU). It has powers in a range of areas that affect member countries:
animal rights
consumer rights
the environment
international trade
regional economic development
workers' rights
It has the power to approve, amend or reject new European laws. It also approves the EU budget and new members of the European Commission.
The European Parliament is currently made up of 766 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) who are elected by 28 EU member countries. After the 2014 elections, the figure will be 751.
The UK is represented by 73 MEPs. In the UK, there are 12 European electoral regions and each region is represented by between three and ten MEPs. Go to the website of the UK Office of the European Parliament to find out which region you live in and who represents your area.
MEPs spend some of their time in their regional constituencies in the UK and some of their time in political meetings in Brussels. For one week in every month they go to Strasbourg to debate and vote on new European laws with MEPs from other EU member countries.
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