How to Become a Member of the European Parliament
The European Parliament is comprised of elected members representing the European Union. Becoming a member can be achieved if one decides to run in the only direct elections of the E.U.
- Difficulty:
- Challenging
Instructions
Things You'll Need
- Active involvement in your local levels of government
- Fluency in a European language other than English
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The European Parliament is very important in that its elected officials are there to form what becomes legislation within the E.U. This legislation does affect members of the European Union in terms of governing the every day decisions that have a direct impact on citizens.
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The European Parliament has over 780 elected members, each elected for a period of 5 years. The elections have strict rules and operate on a Proportional Representation scale. Every member state of the E.U. will have at least five elected seats.
The London Office of the European Parliament, on a telephone interview, kindly provided the following information:
The best way to become a member is to already be active at your local level because you need to be selected at the Parliamentary level to run for the seat of MEP, which is the Member of the European Parliament. When active within the local levels of government, the basics are that you get noticed and you have the ability to further your career.
Here's how it works:
Selection and elections are by proportional representation; the more active you've been and the greater your position within your particular organisation, the higher the chances of you becoming selected to run for MEP.
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You will need an in-depth understanding of the European Union in addition to knowing how Europe functions within the framework of the Union; additional languages of the EU will help you as well. If elected, your term will be for 5 years and you can run repeatedly after those 5 years.
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If elected, you will serve one week in the parliament in Strasbourg and the duration of the month in Brussels.
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