BODIES AND POLITICAL PARTIES

Carlota.C and Natalia.R
11 dic 2017
2 Min. de lectura

The Parliament has four main bodies:

The Presidency: The President manages the overall work of the European Parliament and its bodies, assisted by 14 vice-presidents. Elected for two and a half years with possible renewal, he manages Parliament activities and chairs the plenary sessions, the Bureau meetings and the Conference of Presidents. He also represents the Parliament in external relations. From 2007 to 2009, the president was Hans-Gert Pöttering (EPP). Jerzy Buzek (EPP), a Polish MEP, succeeded him.

The Conference of Presidents: This is a political body of the European Parliament. It brings together the Presidents of each of the political groups represented in Parliament in order to plan the work and legislative programme (calendar and agenda of the plenary sessions, composition of the committees and delegations as well as the division of competency among these). It also plays an intermediary role in Parliament’s relations with the other community institutions, third countries and extra-Community organisations.

The Bureau : this is made up of the President of the European Parliament, the 14 vice-presidents and the five quaestors in a monitoring capacity. It resolves administrative, personnel and organisational issues and establishes the Parliament’s budget estimates.

The General Secretary: under the authority of the Secretary General, this refers to the 5,000 civil servants recruited through competitions in all the countries of the Union who work for the European Parliament (parliamentary assistants, interpreters, translators etc.).