Apportionment in the European Parliament

The apportionment of seats within the European Parliament to each member state of the European Union is set out by the EU treaties. According to European Union treaties, the distribution of seats is "degressively proportional" to the population of the member states, with negotiations and agreements 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 the electoral 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 the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the EU in 2020, the number of MEPs, including the president, dropped to 705[2] but since the 2024 election, it increased to 720.[3] The maximum number allowed by the Lisbon Treaty is 751.

  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. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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