Member of the European Parliament

A Member of the European Parliament ( MEP short, English Member of the European Parliament, short MEP) is an elected representative in the European Parliament. German -speaking members of the European Parliament calling themselves mostly as MEPs. While this is not the official term, but the term most commonly used in the German language.

MEPs representing the Union citizen in the political system of the European Union. They are involved in the legislative process at European level and control the EU's executive, ie particular the European Commission. In the Parliament, MEPs are organized into transnational political groups, which combine each deputy with similar political orientation. In order to deal with issues professionally, to specialize the deputies and accordingly elected in twenty permanent committees, which are responsible for specific subject areas and prepare the work of the plenary sessions.

After the last European elections, the Parliament was constituted on 14 July 2009 for the seventh parliamentary term. It currently has 754 members, including 99 German, 19 Austrian and Luxembourg 6 MPs. The next direct election of all the members entitled to vote by the citizens of all 28 EU countries will take place in 2014. In their home countries, MEPs are members in over 150 different parties belonging for the most part one of the ten political parties at European level.

Legal situation

Like duties, rights, duties, immunity, payment of deputies are regulated by:

• The TFEU (Article 223, paragraph 2),
• The Direct Elections of 1976 on the organization of the European elections
• The "Protocol on the privileges and immunities " of 1965
• The Rules of Procedure of Parliament
• From July 2009, adopted in 2005 " Statute for Members of the European Parliament "

Election of deputies

In 1952 appointed Parliamentary Assembly of the European Coal and Steel Community, the predecessor of the European Parliament, the members were determined by the parliaments of the Member States. Since the European elections of 1979, the Members of the European Parliament, however, elected every five years by universal, direct, free and secret elections Europe. These elections are the same in all Member States, but instead of having each slightly different electoral systems and separate lists. Each Member State shall appoint a fixed number of MEPs, which according to the principle of degressive proportionality larger Member States, however, each with more seats than smaller, smaller member states more seats per capita than larger ones. Specifically, the number of seats in the TFEU is fixed, and may be amended only by a unanimous treaty reform.

The electors of each citizen of the European Union. Citizens living in another EU Member State than that of which they are nationals are free to choose in which of these states they exercise their right to vote. The age limits for the active and passive voting rights are each defined by the Member States.

Compared to national parliaments, the European Parliament has a relatively large exchange rate of the parliamentarians. Frequently lay down MPs about their mandate to be elected to their national Parliament or to take up a national government office. Since, moreover, particularly in small member states with little seats in the European Parliament smaller parties have little chance to win a mandate alone, this sometimes close to list connections together with the previous agreement, after a certain period of time to " rotate ". However, such agreements have no legal value; formally take the mandate of each Member in each case until the next European elections and can be laid down only by his own will. If a parliamentarian from the Parliament in full, it is replaced by the runner-up to the national election list on which he was elected. The only currently (as of March 2011) reigning European MP who consistently belonged to the Parliament since the 1979 European elections, the German Hans -Gert Poettering ( CDU).

Up to the first European elections in 1979, all MEPs had a so-called " dual mandate ": They were both members of the European and their respective national parliament. Also in the first European elections as candidates often still prominent members of national parliaments, the then perceived a double mandate. With the increasing powers of the European Parliament and the associated growing workload of a mandate, this practice was, however, less and less used and rejected by various parties and Member States. Since the 2004 European elections dual mandates are no longer allowed (with exceptions for the UK [ by 2009, in practice, until 2005] and Ireland [ until 2007 ] ).

Since EU citizens in the State of residence can be selected in each case, it is often the case that members of the European Parliament does not have the nationality of the country for which they were elected. The following table shows an overview of these MPs up to the European elections in 2004., Three members, namely, Daniel Cohn- Bendit, Monica Frassoni and Ari Vatanen, have already been selected in several countries.

Women and age structure

The proportion of women MEPs has increased from 1979 to 2009 at each election, from an initial 18 % to 35%. He is thus above the average of the national parliaments in Europe and about the height of the German Bundestag ( with 33 % women since the 2009 federal election ). However, it varies greatly depending on the Member State. In the 2009-2014 legislative period the proportion of women of Finnish ( 61.5 %) and Swedish MEPs ( 55.6 %) is highest in the Czech ( 18.2 %) and Maltese MEPs (0%) the lowest. In the German deputies of the proportion of women is 37.4 %, with the Austrian 41.2 %.

Especially in the 1970s when it was still largely powerless European Parliament had a reputation, especially as a renowned supply center for national Altpolitiker to serve (which in Germany to the ridicule of saying " Do you have a grandpa, send him to Europe" led ); 1979 was the average age of the members with 51 years significantly higher than those of the German Bundestag with 47 years. Meanwhile, however, the average age in the European Parliament is also below 50 years and at about the level of that of national parliaments. The oldest member of Parliament for the legislative period 2009-2014 is the Italian Ciriaco De Mita ( b. 1928 ), the youngest member of the Swedish Amelia Andersdotter (* 1987).

Factions and party discipline

In the European Parliament, MEPs in fractions that are based respectively on the European political parties, in which the various national parties are members organize. In the 2009-2014 term, there are seven such groups as well as a number of non-attached Members.

According to Article 6 of the Direct enter the deputies " individually their voices and personal basis " and are " not bound by orders or instructions ," so they have a free mandate. In practice, this is limited, as in other parliaments by the party discipline. Due to the heterogeneous composition of the European Parliament this party discipline here, however, traditionally rather weak; cross-party majorities on specific topics are more common than in most national parliaments. This is partly explained by the fact that the division between government and opposition factions largely eliminated in the European Parliament. Secondly, the European parties have no influence on the candidate list of their national member parties in the European elections: The loyalty of MPs will sometimes not considered the overall group, but especially their national country group within the Group, which has a greater impact on their re-election. With the increasing competencies and the associated professionalization of the Parliament, however, continued to grow in the unity of the fractions. So voted the deputies of the major political groups in the legislative period 2004-2009 about 90 % of all decisions in terms of their group. The Eurosceptic factions (UEN and Ind / Dem), however, had significantly lower cohesion rates ( 76 % and 47 %).

Compensation and fees

Historical development

Originally, the members of the European Parliament were paid by their respective countries of origin. In general, the European parliamentarians received the same compensation as their counterparts at the national level. This meant that in 2004, at the end of the 5th term, a Spanish MEP received 2600 euros, while an Italian with 11,000 euros received four times in the same position. Even larger were the differences when you look at the salaries of mid-2004, the ten new Eastern European EU members representing parliamentarians: Your monthly remuneration was partially only 800 euros. This is problematic in that all MEPs spend time in Brussels and Strasbourg and have according to the price level in these cities similarly high spending. Eastern European MPs should therefore have even slept in their offices in the Parliament building.

For the 6th legislature was therefore suggested that all MPs should be given a uniform salary of 8,600 euros per month. Since this would have meant partly drastic increases and Eastern European MPs deserve to 25 times their national government, a strong opposition formed, and the plan ultimately failed. For the 7th parliamentary term starting in July 2009 finally agreed on a standard remuneration of the members, but at a significantly lower level than it was five years earlier provided. The agreement, which came about in 2005, originally provided for a base salary of around 7,000 euros and an expense allowance of 3,785 euros. Until entry into force in mid-2009, this number increased even since the diets of the salaries of judges at the ECJ are dependent. In addition, the much-criticized expenses compensation system was changed, which had in the past partially inflated expenses claims. In particular, no relatives may be employed as an employee, and for the reimbursement of travel costs, a document must now be submitted as part of expenses for failure to carry out trips were collected or the tariff was claimed for expensive transport, although it was with a cheaper transport.

Current regulations

An MEP has currently (as of 2011 ) the following claims:

• A monthly base salary of 7,956.87 EUR gross, which corresponds to 38.5% of the basic salary of a judge at the European Court of Justice. Of these, an EU tax and an accident insurance premium is to be paid, which results in net 6200.72 EUR.
• From the age of 63 years a pension of 3.5 % of salary for each full year in office work done, but a maximum of 70 % of salary.
• After leaving Parliament, a transitional allowance equivalent to the parliamentary allowance. " This claim is made for every year the mandate for a month, but not less than six or more than 24 months. "
• A flat monthly expense allowance of 4,299 EUR.
• The remuneration of the actual cost of travel to and from the place of parliamentary sessions or € 0.50 per kilometer when the travel in their own vehicle is completed.
• A daily allowance of 304 EUR for each day of attendance at official meetings of the committees of the European Parliament.
• The employment of assistants at the expense of the EU to a maximum of 19,709 EUR per month including fees. Up to one quarter of this amount may be used for services such as appraisals by external providers.

Pension funds

The ( private, but two-thirds of publicly funded ) pension funds by Members of Parliament came in the wake of the financial crisis from 2007 through misspeculations into a deficit of about 120 million euros. After the private fund has already been saved twice by tax dollars, the European Parliament voted in 2009 for the third rescue and greater media attention by a narrow margin against further government assistance. The Parliament for more transparency in the fund decision was by then President Hans -Gert Poettering (CDU ), however, prevented.

Incompatibilities

To avoid conflicts of interest, Article 7 of the Act on direct certain functions, that may not exercise the Members of the European Parliament. Any Member State may also specify other incompatibilities for the parliamentarians elected in him. The Europe-wide incompatibilities include the following positions:

• A member of a national government
• A member of a national parliament (since the 2004 European elections )
• Member of the European Commission
• Judge Advocate General or Registrar of the Court of Justice of the European Union
• Board member of the European Central Bank
• Member of the European Court of Auditors
• European Ombudsman
• Member of the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions
• Member of a committee or body that perceives managed in accordance with the founding treaties of the EU funds or a permanent direct administrative task,
• Board or Board member or staff of the European Investititionsbank
• Active official or agent of an EU institution or an affiliated institution

When someone who holds one of these positions, is elected to the European Parliament, so he has to give in Parliament, the Office prior to the commencement of the mandate. A special rule for members of the Irish Parliament, which win a seat in the European elections. This allowed until the next Irish general election have a dual mandate, but not beyond.

Conversely, if want to re-record an MEP of the said offices, he must renounce his mandate before the European Parliament. This goes to a substitutes on the electoral list, for which he was elected to Parliament. Since it is not particularly rare, that MEPs are elected by the national parliaments or governments of their respective state, there is a fairly high membership turnover compared to most national parliaments in the European Parliament.

Observer

The candidate countries of the European Union shall each appoint a number of observers in the European Parliament, which are usually appointed by the national parliament. These observers may be present and also undertake themselves at the invitation of the word in the debates of Parliament, but they can not participate in voting or perform other official duties of parliamentarians. After joining these observers get the full parliamentarians status for a transitional period until the next European elections take place or the country organized elections.

Since the 2009 European election, there are also a number of other observers from those states where additional deputies would be entitled according to the foreseen in the Treaty of Lisbon extension of Parliament. Due to various legal difficulties, these were not full members even after the entry into force of the contract initially (see list of members of the 7th European Parliament # Additional members after the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty ).

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