What does the President of the European Parliament do? How much power does the President have? And how does one get to be one? Presidents of EU institutions, part I.

How it works: Being the Parliament President

https://api.multimedia.europarl.europa.eu/documents/20125/16229048/v003-0038-en.srt

At every parliamentary session  the same ritual is repeated:

the President of the European Parliament  opens the session.

He represents the Members  and the institution.

But what is his role  and what is his power?

Everything begins here. The President  is chosen for two and a half years.

The ballot is secret.  Generally it's without surprises.

With some exceptions, the Socialist Group  and the European People’s Party Group

But that doesn’t make the role of President  any less important.

I will and I want to be  the President of all MEPs,

and I want to defend your rights,  ladies and gentlemen.

Martin Schulz from Germany is  the 14th directly elected President.

He’s far from being a ceremonial  figurehead. The first required quality:

you need a strategy for balancing  interests, because you can never force it.

You need to achieve it by negotiation.  It requires diplomatic skills.

But the two and a half years of presidency  represent above all a race against the clock.

María-José, today there’ll be no preparation  because the President doesn’t have time.

And you’re 10 minutes early.  -Quarter of an hour late.

He or she is responsible for  enforcing the rules of the institution.

The President directs all the activities  of the Parliament and its bodies.

That of the Parliament’s Bureau,  composed of 14 vice-presidents.

Then the Conference of Presidents  of the seven political groups.

And of course plenary sessions.  But his role isn’t limited to that.

He represents the Members  to the outside world

and is the interlocutor of  heads of state and government.

OK. I welcome the President  of the French Republic.

The President represents the House  in international relations.

In less than one year  he’ll have met hundreds of VIPs

and travelled tens of  thousands of kilometres.

The Parliament’s weight has increased  from one European treaty to the next.

But that of its main representative  has not grown in the same way.

Being President is a demanding job, and  having power always means responsibility.

I do my best to be audible and visible  as the President of this institution.

Certainly more audible than visible,  I know, but that's already improved.

It's essential to be visible and audible  at key moments like the European Councils.

A meeting with journalists  to provide his institution’s position.

The speech is fine.  I know my stuff, I've just read it.

Because during summits the President  makes a speech to the heads of state.

Currently this speech is still a preamble  at the beginning of the meeting.

It expresses the European Parliament’s  point of view on the agenda items.

But note that the Parliament President  doesn’t participate in the debate itself.

One hour later he’s in front of the press.

Another key moment  to remind anyone who will listen

of certain founding principles of  European integration.

If the members of the European Council act  as heads of government in their capitals,

then the national parliaments  are in charge.

But if they act as an institution of the EU,  then the EP is in charge.

One reason for it may be that  the President of the Parliament

adopts the Union’s budget  with his signature.