Edu365.cat

The next elections in which we participate will be to elect Members of the European Parliament (MEPs), in the month of June. The European Parliament is made up of MEPs from the 27 member states of the European Union (EU).

As the elections are approaching, the names of the candidates representing a number of Catalan political parties have been announced: Ramon Tremosa for Convergence and Union (CiU), Raül Romeva for Initiative for Catalonia Greens (ICV) and Oriol Junqueras for Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC).

Firstly, it is important to highlight that MEPs are not grouped according to nationality but, rather, by ideological affinities. Seven ideologically distinct groups are currently represented: the Group of the European People's Party, the Socialist Group in the European Parliament, the Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe, the Union for Europe of the Nations Group, Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance, Confederal Group of the European United Left - Nordic Green Left, and the Independence/Democracy Group.

There are currently 785 MEPs (although there will be 736 in the next parliament), elected every five years by direct universal suffrage. In fact, this year (2009) marks exactly 30 years since the first European universal suffrage elections. During that time, the European Parliament has progressively increased its powers to the extent that decisions made there affect the lives of EU citizens more than one might think.