In a nutshell, the European Parliament (EP) functions much like national parliaments. Members of the European Parliament (MEP) are elected by direct elections in their respective countries and have gradually gained more and more powers through the various treaties signed by the EU member states.

Today, the Parliament, together with the Council of Ministers, decides on most EU directives and regulations. With the Lisbon Treaty in 2009, a final decisive step was taken – the EP gained equal rights with the Council of Ministers to decide on the EU budget. This was crucial for issues such as agricultural policy, which still makes up a large part of the EU budget. The treaty also gave the EP a key role in appointing the President of the European Commission. The EP also scrutinises EU institutions and promotes human rights inside and outside the EU.

Organisation of the European Parliament

The EP presently consists of 705 MEPs representing the 27 EU Member States. They are elected for a five-year term. The number of MEPs each country can have depends on its population. Sweden currently has 21 MEPs and Finland has 15. The new EP will have 721 MEPs due to Brexit.

The EP is organised and works very much like a national parliament. The work is led by a President who is elected for a half term, i.e. two and a half years. As well as ensuring the smooth running of the EP, the President represents the EP externally, for example in contacts with other EU institutions. However, there are important differences in working methods between the EP and a national parliament: the EP is not as firmly attached to a 'government'. Individual MEPs therefore have greater opportunities to pursue issues, for example by becoming responsible for a legislative proposal.

The European Parliament. Photo: Michael Erhardsson

EP political groups

Once the elections are over, the political groups in Parliament are formed. Members with similar political views come together in parliamentary groups. The groups, and where the Swedish and Finnish parties currently belong, are:

• Group of the European People's Party - EPP (Swedish Conservatives, Finnish National Coalition Party and Swedish and Finnish Christian Democrats).
• Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament -
  S&D (Swedish and Finnish Social Democrats)
• Renew Europe Group - RENEW (Swedish and Finnish Centre Parties, Swedish Liberals and
  Swedish People's Party in Finland)
• Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance - the Greens/EFA (Swedish Green party and
  Finnish Green league)
• European Conservatives and Reformists Group - ECR (Swedish Sweden Democrats)
• Identity and Democracy Group - ID (Finns party)
• The Left Group in the European Parliament - GUE/NGL (Swedish Left party and Finnish Left
  Alliance)

As an individual MEP, it is not possible to follow all of the Parliament's issues, but the division of labour is the same as in national parliaments. In practice, therefore, as a MEP you only monitor certain issues and as a group member you usually support the party group's proposals on how to vote on other issues. It is therefore extremely important what the group wants to achieve. The party groups' election manifestos set the direction for the coming parliamentary term and can be found on their respective websites.

The work of the committees

MEPs work in 20 different committees that cover a wide range of topics related to the EU. The composition of the committees should reflect the overall political distribution of the EP. For the seas and climate, it is particularly important what happens in the environment committee (ENVI), the agriculture committee (AGRI) and the fisheries committee (PECH), but of course these are affected by what happens in the budget, transport and regional development committees and many others.

If you are elected as a MEP, you can wish for a certain committee, but it is not for certain that you will get it. You can also take on responsibility for pursuing an issue and you can, on behalf of your committee, become a so-called rapporteur for an ongoing legislative proposal, such as the revision of the Waste Water Directive. In this case, you are responsible for leading the committee's discussions on a new proposal, often producing a report on the issue, proposing amendments and anchoring these in both your own and other committees. The other committees each appoint a 'shadow rapporteur', who is responsible for the committee's work on the issue. Once the committee has voted, the proposal goes to the full EP, which votes in plenary. Only then does the EP have an official position on the issue.

The influence of MEPs

Individual MEPs can raise issues by bringing them to their committee, organizing seminars and so on, but they cannot formally propose new legislation. Only the European Commission has that right. However, the EP can ask the Commission to take up an issue.

Of course, issues that are on the table can get stuck. The committee with the main responsibility may not agree, or another committee with the right to give an opinion may have a different opinion. In practice, therefore, much of the work in the Parliament is about anchoring your issue and your position in the different political groups, getting strong advocates from several groups, finding compromises and, last but not least, being persistent. It takes a long time to get an issue through. Crises also threaten to throw a spanner in the works.

In the last two years, the war in the EU's neighbourhood, as well as high energy and food prices, have affected which policy areas can be changed. Before that, there was the COVID pandemic. The economic crisis that began in 2007 has also slowed things down.

How a MEP work

We asked two former Swedish MEPs, Jytte Guteland (S), who served in the EP between 2014 and 2022, and Christofer Fjellner (M), who served in the EP between 2004 and 2019, about their working methods. 

How do MEPs influence the issues they think are important?

Jytte: The most important thing in the beginning is to be elected to the right committee in relation to the issues you want to pursue. Then you have to show that you want to prioritise certain issues in that committee and become the person who handles the issues in your political group. You have to be a bit stubborn and focused.

Christofer Fjellner (M). Photo: Liselotte van der Meijs

Christofer: The big difference between MEPs and national MPs is that MPs basically vote in favour or against proposals that have already been made, while MEPs influence how legislation should look by writing concrete proposals for legislative changes. Expertise is therefore important and is indeed rewarded in the European Parliament. It is important to work on an issue for many years and build credibility among colleagues.

How do you get others in the EP on board with your issues and opinions?

Jytte: Listen to others, be willing to compromise but stand firm and repeat the most important things like a parrot. Only when you have been pushing the issue for a long time will people hear what you are saying.

Christofer: It is important to build coalitions for the issues you want to pursue. In the European Parliament, there are no ready-made block constellations; you can find new friends for each issue. Members are also not as loyal to their party groups as they are in national politics.

Do you have an example of a working method you used that produced good results?

Jytte Guteland (S). Photo: Sveriges riksdag

Jytte: I was very clear that I prioritised climate and chemicals and I became a spokesperson for both through my group leadership in the Environment Committee. I believe that it was the stubbornness to keep the issues alive for a long time that gave me that role. Then I became the main negotiator for the EU climate law, which gave me the best opportunities to influence the climate during that mandate. 

Christofer: Fisheries policy is a good example of when I was able to influence legislation. I had an interest and knowledge of the issue and basically agreed with the Green Group while many in my own party group were critical. Thanks to my credibility on the fisheries issue, I was able to convince over a third of my own party group to vote in favour of the Green Group, which was crucial for the new fisheries policy to go through. 

What tips do you have for new MEPs?

Jytte: Be a bit stubborn on the most important issues, don't jump around between committees or issues for too long. Try to network in your committee both within your group and with others. Good luck with one of the most fun and politically influential jobs imaginable!

Christofer: Read up. Everyone has opinions but knowledge is what makes the difference. And stay for a long time. The first term you learn, the second term you think you understand, the third term you really make a difference.

Text: Gun Rudquist, Ellen Bruno and Charles Berkow