PURPOSE: to establish the composition of the European Parliament.
PROPOSED ACT: European Council Decision.
ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: Council may adopt the act only if Parliament has given its consent to the act.
BACKGROUND: the first subparagraph of Article 14(2) of the Treaty on European Union (TEU) lays down the criteria for the composition of the European Parliament, namely that representatives of the Union's citizens are not to exceed 750 in number, plus the President, that representation is to be degressively proportional, with a minimum threshold of six members per Member State, and that no Member State is to be allocated more than 96 seats.
CONTENT: in the application of Article 14(2) TEU, it is proposed to set the number of representatives in the European Parliament elected in each Member State for the 2019-2024 parliamentary term as follows:
- Belgium : 21
- Bulgaria : 17
- Czech Republic : 21
- Denmark : 14
- Germany : 96
- Estonia : 7
- Ireland : 13
- Greece : 21
- Spain: 59
- France : 79
- Croatia : 12
- Italy: 76
- Cyprus: 6
- Latvia: 8
- Lithuania : 11
- Luxembourg : 6
- Hungary : 21
- Malta: 6
- Netherlands : 29
- Austria : 19
- Poland : 52
- Portugal : 21
- Romania : 33
- Slovenia: 8
- Slovakia : 14
- Finland: 14
- Sweden : 21
However, it is foreseen that, in the event that the United Kingdom is still a Member State of the Union at the beginning of the 2019-2024 parliamentary term, the number of representatives in the European Parliament per Member State taking up office shall be the one provided for in Article 3 of European Council Decision 2013/312/EU until the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the Union becomes legally binding.