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merge information from European Union article.
The '''European Parliament''' is one of the [[parliament|parliamentary]] [[legislature|legislative]] bodies of the [[European Union]]. Its membership consists of directly elected [[Members of the European Parliament]] (MEPs), from each of the 27 EU member-states. There are currently 785 members, elected for five-year terms. The President is the Conservative [[German]] MEP [[Hans-Gert Pöttering]], who represents the [[European People's Party–European Democrats]].<ref>[http://www.europarl.europa.eu/parliament/public.do?language=en Welcome to the European Parliament] - European Parliament website</ref> The number of representatives per country is roughly determined by population, but the exact numbers were negotiated in treaties.
The '''European Parliament''' is one of the [[parliament|parliamentary]] [[legislature|legislative]] bodies of the [[European Union]]. Its membership consists of directly elected [[Members of the European Parliament]] (MEPs), from each of the 27 EU member-states. There are currently 785 members, elected for five-year terms. The President is the Conservative [[German]] MEP [[Hans-Gert Pöttering]], who represents the [[European People's Party–European Democrats]].<ref>[http://www.europarl.europa.eu/parliament/public.do?language=en Welcome to the European Parliament] - European Parliament website</ref> The number of representatives per country is roughly determined by population, but the exact numbers were negotiated in treaties.
Parliament's powers have gradually grown with the entry into force of the Single European Act (1986), the Maastricht Treaty (1993) and the Treaty of Amsterdam (1999). Parliament shares decision-making power on an equal footing with the Council in many areas under the Community Pillar to which the "co-decision procedure" applies. The European Parliament is one of the two branches with budgetary authority – the Council is the other. The signature of the EP president brings the overall EU budget into effect.
The European Parliament also plays a role in the process of selecting the President and other members of the Commission. The European Council's nomination of the President is subject to approval by the Parliament. The EP holds U.S.-style public hearings of Commission nominees before taking a formal vote to approve the nomination of the Commission as a body. Parliament has the power to censure the entire Commission, but not to dismiss individual Commissioners.
The organisation is based in both [[Strasbourg]], [[France]] (for official legislative procedure) and in [[Brussels]], [[Belgium]] (for unofficial or negotiative stages). While Brussels is the main seat for most other European Union offices, European law requires that the parliament sits 12 times a year in Strasbourg, which is also the seat of the other legislative body of the Union; namely the [[Council of Europe]]. The cost of having two seats for the parliament is significantly higher than were there a single seat, with an estimated pricetag of €203million of extra travel expenses. This extra cost, due to the perceived bureaucracy of the EU, has led to large amounts of criticism for the organisation.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7575319.stm Strasbourg unfit for EU session ] - BBC News, August 20, 2008</ref>
The organisation is based in both [[Strasbourg]], [[France]] (for official legislative procedure) and in [[Brussels]], [[Belgium]] (for unofficial or negotiative stages). While Brussels is the main seat for most other European Union offices, European law requires that the parliament sits 12 times a year in Strasbourg, which is also the seat of the other legislative body of the Union; namely the [[Council of Europe]]. The cost of having two seats for the parliament is significantly higher than were there a single seat, with an estimated pricetag of €203million of extra travel expenses. This extra cost, due to the perceived bureaucracy of the EU, has led to large amounts of criticism for the organisation.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7575319.stm Strasbourg unfit for EU session ] - BBC News, August 20, 2008</ref>