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Apportionment in the European Parliament

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Allocation of legislative seats to EU member countries

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Theapportionment of seats within theEuropean Parliament to eachmember state of the European Union is set out by theEU treaties. According to European Union treaties, the distribution of seats is "degressively proportional" to the population of the member states, with negotiations andagreements between member states playing a role.[1] Thus the allocation of seats is not strictly proportional to the size of a state's population, nor does it reflect any other automatically triggered or fixed mathematical formula. The process can be compared to the composition of theelectoral college used to elect the President of the United States of America in that,pro rata, the smaller state received more places in the electoral college than the more populous states.

After thewithdrawal of the United Kingdom from the EU in 2020, the number of MEPs, including thepresident, dropped to 705[2] but since the2024 election, it increased to 720.[3] The maximum number allowed by theLisbon Treaty is 751.

Background

[edit]

When the Parliament was established in 1952 as the 78-member "Common Assembly of theEuropean Coal and Steel Community" the then-three smaller states (Belgium,Luxembourg, and theNetherlands) were concerned about being under-represented and hence they were granted more seats than their population would have allowed. Membership increased to 142 with the Assembly expanded to cover theEconomic andAtomic Energy Communities.[4] It then grew further with eachenlargement, which each time allowing smaller nations to have greater proportion of seats relative to larger states.

Relative influence of voters from different EU member states (2024–2029)[5]

Influence is proportional toseats-to-votes ratio and inversely proportional to Inhabitants to MEPs ratio.

Member statePopulation (2025)MEPsInhabitants
per MEP
Influence[6]
 Austria9,197,21320459,8611.36
 Belgium11,900,12322540,9151.16
 Bulgaria6,437,36017378,6681.65
 Croatia3,874,35012322,8631.94
 Cyprus979,8656163,3113.83
 Czech Republic10,909,50021519,5001.20
 Denmark5,992,73415399,5161.57
 Estonia1,369,9957195,7143.20
 Finland5,635,97115375,7311.66
 France68,635,94381847,3570.74
 Germany83,577,14096870,5950.72
 Greece10,409,54721495,6931.26
 Hungary9,539,50221454,2621.38
 Ireland5,439,89814388,5641.61
 Italy58,934,17776775,4500.81
 Latvia1,856,9329206,3263.03
 Lithuania2,890,66411262,7882.38
 Luxembourg681,9736113,6625.50
 Malta574,250695,7086.54
 Netherlands18,044,02731582,0651.07
 Poland36,497,49553688,6320.91
 Portugal10,749,63521511,8871.22
 Romania19,036,03133576,8491.08
 Slovakia5,419,45115361,2971.73
 Slovenia2,130,8509236,7612.64
 Spain49,077,98461804,5570.78
 Sweden10,587,71021504,1771.24
 European Union450,380,320720625,5281.00

Nice system (2003–2009)

[edit]
Number of seats plotted against the population of each state (Nice 2007)

TheNice Treaty provided for a maximum of 736 seats. In 2009, with about 500 million EU citizens, this meant that there were on average 670,000 citizens represented by each MEP. Some states divide the electorate for their allocated MEPs into sub-nationalconstituencies. However, they may not be divided in such a way that the system would no longer be proportional.

The2004 European Parliament election was the first conducted under theNice Treaty, with 732 seats for the 25 member states.

The2009 European Parliament election was conducted under the rules included in theNice Treaty which provided for a maximum number of 736, although that figure had been breached on the accession of new members to the EU, these states being allowed parliamentary representation without a corresponding reduction in the number of MEPs allotted to other member states. This happened in 2007 on the accession of Romania and Bulgaria, when the number of seats temporarily increased to 785. It subsequently returned to 736 in the 2009 election.[4]

Lisbon system (2009–present)

[edit]

Under theLisbon Treaty, which first applied to the2014 European Parliament election, the cap on the number of seats was raised to 750, with a maximum of 96 and a minimum of 6 seats per state. They continue to be distributed "degressively proportional" to the populations of the EU's member states.[7]

European Parliament apportionment changes between theTreaty of Nice and theTreaty of Lisbon
(as calculated for purposes of the2009 European elections)
Member state2007
Nice
2009
Nice
2014
Lisbon
2014[i]
+ Croatia
 Germany99999696
 France78727474
 United Kingdom[ii]78727373
 Italy78727373
 Spain54505454
 Poland54505151
 Romania35333332
 Netherlands27252626
 Belgium24222221
 Czech Republic24222221
 Greece24222221
 Hungary24222221
 Portugal24222221
 Sweden19182020
 Austria18171918
 Bulgaria18171817
 Finland14131313
 Denmark14131313
 Slovakia14131313
 Croatia11
 Ireland13121211
 Lithuania13121211
 Latvia9898
 Slovenia7788
 Cyprus6666
 Estonia6666
 Luxembourg6666
 Malta5566
Total:785736751[iii]751[iii]

Italicised countries are divided intosub-national constituencies, except France which changed to full-country voting in 2019.

  1. ^As proposed byEuropean Parliament on 13 March 2013.[8]
  2. ^IncludedGibraltar, butnot any otherBOT (including theSBAs), nor theCrown Dependencies. The United Kingdom and Gibraltarleft the European Union on 31 January 2020.
  3. ^abThe speaker is not counted officially, thus leaving 750 MEPs.

There was controversy over the fact that the population figures are based on residents, not citizens, resulting in countries with larger disenfranchised immigrant populations gaining more under Lisbon than those with smaller ones.[9] Italy would have been the greatest loser under the Lisbon system and sought the same number of MEPs as France and the United Kingdom. Italy raised the issue duringtreaty negotiations and succeeded in gaining one extra MEP (giving it the same as the UK) while thePresident of the European Parliament would not be counted as a lawmaker hence keeping the number of MEPs to the 750-seat limit.[10]

2011 amendment

[edit]

In 2011 an amendment, which came into force on 1 December, temporarily increased the Lisbon limit to 754.[11][12][13][14] This allowed member states who gained seats under Lisbon to take them before the 2014 election, while allowing Germany which lost seats under Lisbon to retain them until the 2014 election. This amendment, in effect, institutes a transitional manner of distributing MEPs to take account of the fact that the 2009 European Parliamentary elections took place under the rules contained in theNice Treaty and not in theLisbon Treaty. That result means that member state that are to gain seats in parliament under the Lisbon rules may take them, but that Germany which loses three seats under the Lisbon rules keeps those seats until the next elections, due in 2014.[15] As a result, Germany temporarily exceeds the maximum number of MEPs allocatable to a member state under the Lisbon Treaty by having 99 MEPs, three above the intended limit.

2013 amendment

[edit]

Following theaccession of Croatia on 1 July 2013 with 12 extra seats, the apportionment was amended for the2014 elections,[8] when 12 countries lost one seat (including Croatia itself).

2014 election

[edit]
Number of seats in EP 2014–2019 versus number of inhabitants, showing difference with proportionality.

From October 2008,[16] MEPAndrew Duff (ALDE, UK) has advocated within the European Parliament for a reform of EU electoral law for the 2014 elections, including the creation of a single constituency of 25 seats in which each European citizen would be entitled to vote on the basis of pan-European lists. He has been nominated rapporteur, as the European Parliament has the right of initiative in this field ruled by unanimity in the Council. After the 2009 election, Duff proposed a new version of his report,[17] which was adopted by the parliamentary Committee on Constitutional Affairs (AFCO) in April 2011. However, the plenary session of the Parliament referred the report back to the AFCO committee in July 2011. A third version of the report[18] was published in September 2011 and adopted by the AFCO committee in January 2012, but was withdrawn before being discussed in plenary in March 2012 for fear that it would likely be turned down.

On 13 March 2013 theEuropean Parliament voted a new proposal updating seat assignments per country for 2014,[8] taking into account demographic changes and bringing the total number of seats back to the nominal 751 enshrined in theLisbon Treaty. The same document suggests the creation of a formal process "based on objective criteria to be applied in a pragmatic manner" for apportioning seats in future elections.

Apportionment in the European Parliament
Constituency20072009Dec.

2011[19]

1 July
2013[20]
A. Duff's
1st prop.
for 2014[21][22]
A. Duff's 2nd prop.[23]European
Council
Decision
2014[24]
Population
in 2013[25]
Population
per MEPs
201420192024
Pan-European25
Germany99999999969696969680,523,746838,789
France78727474837983837465,633,194886,935
United Kingdom78727373807679807363,896,071875,289
Italy78727373787578787359,685,227817,606
Spain54505454615861615446,704,308864,895
Poland54505151515151515138,533,299755,555
Romania35333333313131313220,020,074625,627
Netherlands27252626252525252616,779,575645,368
Belgium24222222182019192111,161,642531,507
Greece24222222192019192111,062,508526,786
Czech Republic24222222182018182110,516,125500,768
Portugal24222222182018182110,487,289499,395
Hungary2422222217201817219,908,798471,848
Sweden1918202017181717209,555,893477,795
Austria1817191916171616188,451,860469,548
Bulgaria1817181815161414177,284,552428,503
Denmark1413131312121212135,602,628430,971
Finland1413131312121212135,426,674417,436
Slovakia1413131312121212135,410,836416,218
Ireland1312121211111111114,591,087417,372
Croatia1211111111114,262,140387,467
Lithuania1312121291099112,971,905270,173
Slovenia7788888882,058,821257,353
Latvia9899888882,023,825252,978
Estonia6666777761,324,814220,802
Cyprus666666666865,878144,313
Luxembourg666666666537,03989,507
Malta556666666421,36470,227
total785736754766776751751751751505,701,172673,370

2019 election

[edit]

The EU needed to revise the apportionment of seats in time for the next European Parliament election, expected to be held in May 2019, when the United Kingdom's 73 MEPs may have vacated their seats followingBrexit. In April 2017, a group of European lawmakers discussed what should be done about the vacated seats. One plan, supported byEnrico Letta,Gianni Pittella andEmmanuel Macron, was to replace the 73 seats with a pan-European constituency list. Other options which were considered include dropping the British seats without replacement and reassigning some or all of the existing seats from other countries to reduce inequality of representation.[26] A plan to reduce the number of seats to 705 was approved by the Parliament in February 2018. It involves redistributing 27 seats to under-represented members and reserving the remaining 46 for future EU expansions. A proposal by the Constitutional Affairs Committee to create a pan-member constituency was rejected by the Parliament at the same time.[27]The proposed redistribution did not occur due to theBrexit extension until 31 October, and the allocation used was the same as in 2014. After Brexit took legal effect, the seat distribution was decided by the European Council. Those countries which were allocated additional seats elected MEPs who only took office after Brexit had taken effect.

Apportionment in the European Parliament
Country20072009Dec.

2011[28]

July
2013
2014Proposals for 2019 after the
removal of UK seats[26][29]
Population
Cambridge CompromiseDecision
(Feb 2018)
Change
from 2014
2017[30]Thousands
per MEP
Minimizing
Gini[31]
Minimizing
malapportionment
Germany9999999996969696Steady82,521,653860
France7872747474799679Increase +566,989,083848
United Kingdom7872737373Decrease -73
Italy7872737373738976Increase +360,589,445797
Spain5450545454577059Increase +546,528,024789
Poland5450515151475852Increase +137,972,964730
Romania3533333332273333Increase +119,644,350595
Netherlands2725262626242929Increase +317,081,507589
Belgium2422222221182121Steady11,351,727541
Greece2422222221172021Steady10,768,193513
Czech Republic2422222221172021Steady10,578,820504
Hungary2422222221161921Steady9,797,561467
Portugal2422222221172021Steady10,309,573491
Sweden1918202020161921Increase +19,995,153476
Austria1817191918151819Increase +18,772,865462
Bulgaria1817181817131517Steady7,101,859418
Denmark1413131313121314Increase +15,748,769411
Finland1413131313121314Increase +15,503,297393
Slovakia1413131313121314Increase +15,435,343388
Ireland1312121211111213Increase +24,784,383368
Croatia1211101112Increase +14,154,213346
Lithuania13121212119911Steady2,847,904259
Latvia98998888Steady1,950,116244
Slovenia77888888Steady2,065,895258
Estonia66666777Increase +11,315,635188
Cyprus66666676Steady854,802142
Luxembourg66666666Steady590,66798
Malta66666666Steady460,29777
Total785736754766751639736705Decrease –46445,714,098[32]632

2024 election

[edit]

In February 2023, theAFCO committee of the European Parliament released a draft report (whose rapporteurs areLóránt Vincze andSandro Gozi) on the necessary changes to the composition of the European Parliament in order to respect the principle of degressive proportionality (enshrined in theTEU). The draft report suggested a new apportionment which aimed at respecting the degressive proportionality while also resulting in no loss of seats for any Member State, therefore leading to an expansion in the number of MEPs, from 705 to 716.[33] On 12 June 2023, the report was approved by the AFCO committee, with the apportionment being unchanged compared to the draft report.[34] On 15 June 2023 the report was approved by the EP plenary.[35]

In July 2023, theEuropean Council put forward its own proposed apportionment for the tenth European Parliament, which would add 15 new MEPs and thus take the number of seats from 705 to 720.[36] In this proposal, no Member State would lose any spots in the hemicycle and the countries gaining new seats would be as indicated in the table below underNew allocation of seats (final decision for 2024).

On 15 September 2023, the European Parliament approved the apportionment proposed by the Council, with 515 votes in favor, 74 against and 44 abstentions.[3]

Furthermore, this decision envisages the future (before the 2029–2034 parliamentary term) definition of "an objective, fair, durable and transparent seat distribution method implementing the principle of degressive proportionality, without prejudice to the institutions’ prerogatives under the Treaties".[37][38]

Member statePopulation (2023)MEPsRatio population/seatsNew allocation of seats (AFCO draft)Change from 2022 (AFCO draft)New ratio population/seats (AFCO draft)New allocation of seats (final decision for 2024)[37]Change from 2022 (final decision for 2024)New ratio population/seats (final decision for 2024)
 Germany84,358,84596878,73896Steady878,73896Steady878,738
 France68,070,69779858,76779Steady861,65481Increase +2840,379
 Italy58,850,71776774,35276Steady774,35276Steady774,352
 Spain48,059,77759814,57261Increase +2787,86561Increase +2787,865
 Poland36,753,73652706,80352Steady706,80353Increase +1693,467
 Romania19,051,56233577,32033Steady577,32033Steady577,320
 Netherlands17,811,29129614,18231Increase +2574,55831Increase +2574,558
 Belgium11,754,00421559,71421Steady559,71422Increase +1534,273
 Czech Republic10,827,52921515,59721Steady515,59721Steady515,597
 Sweden10,521,55621501,02621Steady501,02621Steady501,026
 Portugal10,467,36621498,44621Steady498,44621Steady498,446
 Greece10,394,05521494,95521Steady494,95521Steady494,955
 Hungary9,597,08521457,00421Steady457,00421Steady457,004
 Austria9,104,77219479,19920Increase +1455,23920Increase +1455,239
 Bulgaria6,447,71017379,27717Steady379,27717Steady379,277
 Denmark5,932,65414423,76115Increase +1395,51015Increase +1395,510
 Finland5,563,97014397,42615Increase +1370,93115Increase +1370,931
 Slovakia5,428,79214387,77115Increase +1361,91915Increase +1361,919
 Ireland5,194,33613399,56414Increase +1371,02414Increase +1371,024
 Croatia3,850,89412320,90812Steady320,90812Steady320,908
 Lithuania2,857,27911259,75311Steady259,75311Steady259,753
 Slovenia2,116,7928264,5999Increase +1235,1999Increase +1235,199
 Latvia1,883,0088235,3769Increase +1209,2239Increase +1209,223
 Estonia1,365,8847195,1267Steady195,1267Steady195,126
 Cyprus920,7016153,4506Steady153,4506Steady153,450
 Luxembourg660,8096110,1356Steady110,1356Steady110,135
 Malta542,051690,3426Steady90,3426Steady90,342
 European Union448,387,872705636,011716Increase +11626,240720Increase +15622,761

  Degressive proportionality breached.

Changes in membership

[edit]
StateJoined
Population
2006
Population
2017
Sep
1952
Mar
1957
Jan
1973
Jun
1979
Jan
1981
Jan
1986
Jun
1994
Jan
1995
May
2004
Jun
2004
Jan
2007
Jun
2009
Dec
2011
Jul
2013
Jun
2014
Feb
2020
 Germany195182,428,00082,521,65318363681818199999999999999999696
 France195162,886,00066,989,08318363681818187878778787274747479
 United Kingdom197360,422,00065,808,573 36818181878787787872737373 
 Italy195158,752,00060,589,44518363681818187878778787273737376
 Spain198643,758,00046,528,024 6064646454545054545459
 Poland200438,157,00037,972,964 5454545051515152
 Romania200721,610,00019,644,350 353333333233
 Netherlands195116,334,00017,081,50710141425252531313127272526262629
 Belgium195110,511,00011,351,72710141424242425252524242222222121
 Greece198111,125,00010,768,193 242425252524242222222121
 Czech Republic200410,251,00010,578,820 2424242222222121
 Portugal198610,570,00010,309,573 2425252524242222222121
 Sweden19959,048,0009,995,153 222219191820202021
 Hungary200410,077,0009,797,561 2424242222222121
 Austria19958,266,0008,772,865 212118181719191819
 Bulgaria20077,719,0007,101,859 181718181717
 Denmark19735,428,0005,748,769 1016161616161614141313131314
 Finland19955,256,0005,503,297 161614141313131314
 Slovakia20045,389,0005,435,343 1414141313131314
 Ireland19734,209,0004,784,383 1015151515151513131212121113
 Croatia20134,443,0004,154,213 121112
 Lithuania20043,403,0002,847,904 1313131212121111
 Slovenia20042,003,0002,065,895 77778888
 Latvia20042,295,0001,950,116 99989988
 Estonia20041,344,0001,315,635 66666667
 Cyprus2004766,000854,802 66666666
 Luxembourg1951460,000590,6674666666666666666
 Malta2004404,000460,297 55556666
Total494,070,000511,522,67178142198410434518567626788732785736754766751705

Source for MEP figures 1952–2004: European Navigator. Source for population figures and MEP figures for 2007 and 2009: European Parliament, full population figures[1]. December 2011 figures reflect the members added to the European Parliament by the Protocol Amending the Protocol on Transitional Provisions (OJ 29.9.2010, C 263, p. 1) which came into force on 1 December 2011. Figures for 2019 follow parliamentary decision of February 2018.[2][3]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^"National Representation in European Democracy: Seat Apportionment in the European Parliament".European Union Studies Association. [PDF file]
  2. ^"Redistribution of seats in the European Parliament after Brexit". European Parliament. 31 January 2020. Retrieved2 February 2020.
  3. ^ab"2024 European elections: 15 additional seats divided between 12 countries". Retrieved19 September 2023.
  4. ^ab"Composition of the European Parliament". European NAvigator. Retrieved12 June 2007.
  5. ^"Europäische Verfassung: Das Demokratiedefizit".Der Spiegel. 2 October 2003. Retrieved13 January 2012.
  6. ^It's based on the medium value 622,761 Inhabitants/MEPs. Formula:622,761(Inhabitants/MEPs)Memberstate{\displaystyle {622,761 \over (Inhabitants/MEPs)_{Memberstate}}}
  7. ^"Distribution of EP seats: Constitutional Affairs Committee approvals proposal". Europa (web portal). 2 October 2007. Retrieved10 October 2001.
  8. ^abc"Composition of the European Parliament with a view to the 2014 elections".Europa.eu. 13 March 2013. Retrieved22 July 2013.
  9. ^Goldirova, Renata (12 October 2007)."Italy seeks to delay MEP seats decision". EU Observer.Archived from the original on 16 October 2007. Retrieved12 October 2007.
  10. ^Goldirova, Renata (19 October 2007)."EU agrees new 'Lisbon Treaty'". EU Observer.Archived from the original on 21 October 2007. Retrieved19 October 2007.
  11. ^"18 new MEPs take their seats". European Parliament. 10 January 2012. Retrieved25 March 2013.
  12. ^"Ratification of Parliament's 18 additional MEPs completed". European Parliament. 29 November 2011. Retrieved25 March 2013.
  13. ^Philip Ebels (14 November 2011)."18 new MEPs to arrive next month".EUobserver. Retrieved13 January 2012.
  14. ^"Ratification details". Archived fromthe original on 25 May 2012. Retrieved20 September 2011.
  15. ^Protocol Amending the Protocol on Transitional Provisions annexed to the Treaty on European Union, to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and to the Treaty Establishing the European Atomic Energy Community (OJ 29.9.2010, C 263, p. 1).
  16. ^Euractiv,MEP: 'Radical' electoral reform 'badly needed' for 2014 13 October 2008
  17. ^Europolitics, Célia Sampol,European elections: Andrew Duff proposes creation of transnational listArchived 2 December 2013 at theWayback Machine 26 April 2010
  18. ^Legislative observatory of the European Parliament,Procedure files on the Proposal for a modification of the Act concerning the election of the Members of the European Parliament by direct universal suffrage of 20 September 1976
  19. ^Amendments to the protocol on transitional provisions annexed to the EU treaties ratified on 1 December 2011, according to the European ParliamentPress release on the ratification of Parliament's 18 additional MEPs, 1 December 2011
  20. ^Accession of Croatia to the EU in compliance with theTreaty concerning the accession of the Republic of Croatia signed on 9 December 2011
  21. ^First proposal by Member of European Parliament Andrew Duff in his draft report entitledProposal for a modification of the Act concerning the election of the Members of the European Parliament by direct universal suffrage of 20 September 1976, published on 4 November 2010
  22. ^Report of the European Parliament staff,The allocation between the EU member states of seats in the European Parliament – Cambridge Compromise March 2011
  23. ^Euractiv,Countries set to lose MEPs as their population shrinks, 11 September 2012
  24. ^Official Journal of the European Union,2013/312/EU: European Council Decision of 28 June 2013 establishing the composition of the European Parliament, 28 June 2013
  25. ^Eurostat, as of 1 January 2013; numbers initalic are provisional.
  26. ^ab"MEPs debate who inherits British seats". politico.eu. Retrieved12 April 2017.
  27. ^"Size of Parliament to shrink after Brexit" (Press release).European Parliament. 7 February 2018. Retrieved28 May 2018.
  28. ^Amendments to the protocol on transitional provisions annexed to the EU treaties ratified on 1 December 2011, according to the European ParliamentPress release on the ratification of Parliament's 18 additional MEPs, 1 December 2011
  29. ^ab"Is Brexit an opportunity to reform the European Parliament?" [pdf]
  30. ^"Population on 1 January".Eurostat. Retrieved29 May 2018.
  31. ^TheGini coefficient defines how equal (or unequal) is the distribution of seats among member states represented in the parliament. According to ref.,[29] the Gini coefficient of the European Parliament, before changes coming from brexit, is 17.5%, making it very unequal; as a point of comparison, the US House of representative scores a 2.2%, the German Bundestag 3.4%.
  32. ^Population of the EU without the United Kingdom
  33. ^"Draft report on the composition of the European Parliament (2021/2229(INL) – 2023/0900(NLE))"(PDF). European Parliament. February 2023. Retrieved14 May 2023.
  34. ^"MEPs propose new seat distribution for the next legislative term | News | European Parliament".www.europarl.europa.eu. 6 December 2023. Retrieved15 June 2023.
  35. ^"European elections 2024: Parliament proposes more seats for nine EU countries | News | European Parliament".www.europarl.europa.eu. 15 June 2023. Retrieved15 June 2023.
  36. ^"European Parliament set to grow by 15 MEPs in 2024". Retrieved28 July 2023.
  37. ^ab"EUR-Lex - 32023D2061 - EN - EUR-Lex".eur-lex.europa.eu. Retrieved29 October 2023.
  38. ^Müller, Manuel (2 February 2024)."Degressive proportionality: EU enlargement will increase European electoral inequality – but the problem can be solved".Der Föderalist.
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