European Parliament

The European Parliament is the parliamentary body of the European Union (EU), directly elected by EU citizens once every five years. Together with the Council of Ministers, it comprises the legislative branch of the institutions of the Union. It meets in two locations: Strasbourg and Brussels.

Location

Although Brussels is generally treated as the 'capital' of the European Union, and the two institutions of the EU's executive, the Commission and the Council of Ministers, both have their seats there, a protocol attached to the Treaty of Amsterdam requires that the European Parliament have monthly sessions in Strasbourg. Thus the European Parliament is sometimes informally referred to as the 'Strasbourg Parliament'. For practical reasons, however, preparatory legislative work and committee meetings take place in Brussels. Moreover, the European Parliament´s secretariat (administration), which employs the majority of its staff, is located in Luxembourg.

Related Topics:
Treaty of Amsterdam - Strasbourg - Secretariat - Luxembourg

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Parliament only spends four days of each month in Strasbourg in order to take its final, plenary votes. Additional plenary meetings are held in Brussels. On several occasions, the European Parliament has expressed a wish to be granted the right to choose for itself the location of its seat, and eliminate the two-seat system, but in the successive treaties, European governments have continued to reserve this right for themselves.

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