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Members: 626 elected every 5 years/>
Germany 99, France, Italy, the United Kingdom 87 each, Spain 64, the Netherlands 31, Belgium, Greece and Portugal 25 each, Sweden 22, Austria 21, Denmark and Finland 16 each, Ireland 15, Luxembourg 6. Next election due 1999
Meeting places: Strasbourg for monthly plenary sessions. Brussels for committee meetings and additional sessions. The General Secretariat is based in Luxembourg.
The European Parliament is the directly-elected democratic expression of the political will of the peoples of the European Union, the largest multinational parliament in the world. Representing the 370 million citizens of the Union, its primary objectives are like those of any parliament - to pass good laws and to control the use of executive power. Now more than before, it is in a much better position to do both because its responsibilities have been gradually widened and its powers strengthened first by the Single Act of 1987 and then by the Treaty on European Union 1993.
Naturally, the Parliament sees itself as the guardian of the European interest and the defender of the citizens´ rights. Individually, or as a group, European citizens have the right to petition the Parliament and can seek redress of their grievances on matters that fall within the European Union's sphere of responsibility. The Parliament has also appointed an ombudsman, Mr Jacob Magnus Söderman, to investigate allegations of maladministration brought by citizens.
The European Parliament attaches a high priority to maintaining links with national parliaments through regular meetings between speakers and chairmen and between parliamentary committees. These contacts are further enlivened by discussion of Union policies in major conclaves known as "parliamentary assizes".
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