Anna Zalewska – Member of the European Parliament

Anna Zalewska

European Parliament

The European Parliament is an important forum for political debate and decision-making at EU level. MEPs are directly elected by voters in all Member States to represent their interests in EU law-making and ensure that other EU institutions work democratically.

Over the years, through successive changes to European treaties, Parliament has acquired significant legislative and budgetary powers that allow it – on an equal footing with the representatives of the Member States’ governments in the Council – to set the direction of the European project. In doing so, Parliament seeks to promote democracy and human rights – not only in Europe but also around the world.

Each country decides how it will conduct its elections, but it must guarantee gender equality and a secret ballot. EU elections are held on the basis of proportional representation.

Seats are allocated based on the population of each Member State. Just over a third of MEPs are women. MEPs are grouped by political affinity, not nationality.

Some of the powers of the European Parliament:

approves the Commission and its President
has the right to pass a vote of confidence
has the right to question Commissioners

Source of information: European Parliament website

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