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European Parliament Committees
Types of Committees
  • 20 standing Parliamentary Committees and 2 sub-committees
  • the Rules of Procedure foresee the possibility to create Temporary Committees (e.g. CLIM committee) and Committees of Enquiry

  Standing Committees Temporary Committees
 Timeframe  
Permanent                                                 Established for one year, with the possibility of prolongation
Mandate

Adopting draft reports and opinions in their fields of competence, as part of the legislative and budgetary day-to-day activity of the EP
  • Can submit interim and final resolutions on which EP votes
  • Have other specific tasks, clearly stated in their mandate
 Powers Their powers can be determined at a different time than that at which the Committee is set up Their powers, composition and term of office are defined at the same time as the decision to set them up is taken

Composition

  • between 28 and 86 MEPs, a Chair, a Bureau and a Secretariat
  • the Bureau is made up by the Chair and the Vice-Chairs (normally 3, but 4 in the 2004-2009 parliamentary term);
  • an important role is played by the group coordinators
  • most MEPs serve as full members in one Committee and as substitute in another; some MEPs do not serve in any Committee
  • the composition of Committees must reflect the political balance between the Groups in the European Parliament
  • a relatively high turnover in membership from one EP term to another; however, the trend is towards more specialization, implying that MEPs stay in one Committee for more than one term
  • Committees develop a “Corporate identity”; they tend to attract members with an interest in the respective sector.
Tasks