The European Parliament adopted by 312 votes to 201, with 44 abstentions, a legislative resolution on the composition of the European Parliament.
Parliament adopted and submitted to the European Council a proposal for a European Council decision on establishing the composition of the European Parliament, on the basis of its right of initiative laid down in Article 14(2) TEU.
The proposal for a European Council Decision was adopted by 316 votes to 169 with 67 abstentions.
Under this proposal, the number of representatives to the European Parliament elected in each Member State for the 2024-2029 legislature will be 716, as follows:
- Belgium 21
- Bulgaria 17
- Czech Republic 21
- Denmark 15
- Germany 96
- Estonia 7
- Ireland 14
- Greece 21
- Spain 61
- France 79
- Croatia 12
- Italy 76
- Cyprus 6
- Latvia 9
- Lithuania 11
- Luxembourg 6
- Hungary 21
- Malta 6
- Netherlands 31
- Austria 20
- Poland 52
- Portugal 21
- Romania 33
- Slovenia 9
- Slovakia 15
- Finland 15
- Sweden 21
In line with its proposal for a Council Regulation annexed to its legislative resolution of 3 May 2022 on the reform of European electoral law, the 28 additional seats for Members elected in a Union-wide constituency are only to be effectively established after the elections following the entry into force of a revised European electoral law, along with the necessary provisions for a Union-wide constituency.
Members stressed that the proposed decision can only be adopted with Parliament's approval and therefore called on the European Council to inform Parliament immediately if and how it intends to depart from the proposal before it. They warn that any further delay in the Council's work on amending European electoral law would run counter to the principle of sincere cooperation since the Council’s decision is expected to have an impact on the elections of the European Parliament and may have an impact on its composition.
Parliament stressed the need for the European Council to adopt the decision on the composition of the European Parliament as a matter of urgency so that the Member States can adopt, in good time, the necessary domestic measures to enable them to organise the elections to the European Parliament for the 2024-2029 term. Parliament is committed therefore to proceed swiftly with the consent procedure, in the spirit of mutual sincere cooperation.
Lastly, Members stressed the need for a permanent system in the future, based on a clear mathematical formula, that would allocate the seats of the European Parliament in an objective, fair, durable and transparent way, respecting the principle of degressive proportionality. They called on the Committee on Constitutional Affairs to resume its work on such a permanent system, within this legislature, including exploring the possibility for Eurostat to be involved.