BUDGETARY POWERS

The European Parliament approves the Union's budget each year. The budgetary procedure allows Parliament to propose modifications and amendments to the Commission's initial proposals and to the position taken by the Member States in Council. On agricultural spending and costs arising from international agreements the Council has the last word, but on other expenditure — for example, education, social programmes, regional funds, environmental and cultural projects — Parliament decides in close cooperation with the Council.

In exceptional circumstances, the European Parliament has even voted to reject the budget when its wishes have not been adequately respected. Indeed, it is the President of the Parliament who signs the budget into law.

Monitoring of expenditure is the continuous work of the Parliament's Committee on Budgetary Control which seeks to make sure that money is spent for the purposes agreed and to improve the prevention and detection of fraud. Parliament makes an annual assessment of the Commission's management of the budget before approving the accounts and granting it a 'discharge' on the basis of the Annual Report of the Court of Auditors.

SUPERVISION OF THE EXECUTIVE

The Parliament exercises overall political supervision of the way the Union's policies are conducted. Executive power in the Union is shared between the Commission and the Council of Ministers and their representatives appear regularly before Parliament.

Parliament and Commission

Parliament has an important role every five years in appointing the President and members of the Commission. It exercises detailed scrutiny through a close examination of the many monthly and annual reports which the Commission is obliged to submit to the Parliament. Members may also put written and oral questions to the Commission — nearly 5 500 in 1997 — and they regularly interrogate Commissioners at Question Time during plenary sessions and at meetings of parliamentary committees.

If the worst comes to the worst (which has never yet occurred), Parliament can pass a motion of censure on the Commission and force it to resign.

Parliament and Council

The President in office of the Council presents his or her programme at the beginning of a presidency and gives an account of it to Parliament at the end of that period. He or she also reports on the results of each European Council and on progress in the development of foreign and security policy.

Ministers attend plenary sessions and take part in Question Time and in important debates. They must also respond to written questions.

At the beginning of each meeting of the European Council, the President of Parliament presents the institution's main positions on the topics to be discussed by the Heads of State or Government. This speech often sets the tone for the important discussions of the day.

ORGANISATION OF THE PARLIAMENT

All of the EU's major political currents are represented in the Parliament, ranging from far left to far right, and numbering close to 100 political parties. These are organized in a limited number of political fractions. The members of the EP unite into fractions not according to their national characters but according to the political parties they belong to. A fraction consists of not less then 18 members, if the number is less then 18, it becomes a parliamentary group that has less power.

Overall management of the Parliament's activities is the responsibility of the Bureau which consists of the President, 14 Vice-Presidents and 5 Quaestors(advisory). All of its Members are elected by the Parliament for terms of two and a half years.

The chairpersons of the political fractions participate with the President of Parliament in the Conference of Presidents which is responsible for organising the Parliament's work and drawing up the agenda for plenary sessions.

Much of the effective work of Parliament is conducted in its 20 committees covering all areas of the Union's activities, ranging from agriculture to common foreign and security policy, from legal affairs and citizens' rights to overseas cooperation and development.

Parliament maintains friendly relations with elected assemblies all over the world and European parliamentarians meet regularly with representatives from other parliaments in interparliamentary committees and delegations.

PUBLIC ACCESS AND INFORMATION

Sessions of the European Parliament are open to press and public. Daily reports are issued when Parliament is in session and periodic summaries of Parliament's activities are also available, information is distributed by Parliarrer t s Directorate-General for Information and Public Relations and from Parliament's offices in the capital of Member States and Euro-Info Points whose addresses are given at the end of this brochure.

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