EuroparlTV takes you through the full spectrum of the European Parliament's work across its seats in Brussels, Strasbourg, and Luxembourg.

How it works: The European Parliament

Hello and welcome  to the European Parliament

at its seat here in Strasbourg in France.

But the bulk of its political work  is done at its site in Brussels.

And to make matters even more confusing,  the bulk of its admin work

They represent the diverse interests  of 500 million Europeans

and every five years, they are elected  directly by the citizens of their country.

In front of me are 1...2..3...4...28 flags,  one for each Member State.

to the same number  of representatives in Parliament.

The allocation of seats depends  on the size of the population.

The maximum possible  number of MEPs is 96,

as in the EU’s biggest member, Germany.

And the minimum is 6,  as in its smallest members,

The European parliament has 3 principal  powers which are increasing all the time.

covering almost all  of the EU's areas of competence,

At some point all of the EU's expenditures  are discussed here.

And one other power  which is no less important,

MEPs also have a certain amount of control  over other EU institutions and agencies.

For example, it’s MEPs who elect the  President of the European Commission.

So everyone knows what they  should be doing in Parliament

they've designed a colour-coded calendar.

And turquoise when MEPs  go to their constituencies.

It's here in Strasbourg  in this big spherical chamber,

That happens during the plenary  session when votes take place

‘Plenary’, from the Latin word 'plenum' -  related to full -

because all MEPs come together  in the same chamber.

These sessions are a short,  intensive week once every month.

MEPs want to pass, or at least vote on,  a maximum number of files.

Most of the time though,  it’s preparatory work that keeps MEPs busy.

And that happens during pink and blue  weeks in the Parliament in Brussels.

For example: human rights,  security and defence,

foreign affairs, transport and tourism,  budgetary affairs and the environment.

All these policy areas are treated separately  by MEPs in select committees,

like this one:  Economic and Monetary Affairs.

In each of these rooms,  in each committee,

MEPs meet each other  depending on their expertise

coming from the Commission  and the European Council.

There are around twenty  parliamentary committees.

These are always in Brussels  in smaller committee meetings,

but in this case it works according  to the political affiliation of each MEP.

It could be the European People's Party,  the Group of Socialists and Democrats,

or the Alliance of Liberals  and Democrats for Europe.

Each political group defines  its priorities in these meetings.

The parliamentary committee and  plenary session agendas depend on them.

And finally, turquoise means  external parliamentary activities.

During this week,  MEPs can be found on the ground

in the constituencies  of the citizens they represent.

By the end of it all,  Parliament's work becomes a reality

it's just a case of waiting  the time it takes to be adopted

in the legal codes  of the different Member States.

That could mean for example:  the recognition of diplomas

more stringent standards for food safety  and labelling of products in stores;

reinforced air and rail passenger rights;

and a weighty package of measures  proposed by MEPs

to deal with the crisis,  also adopted by Parliament.

In short, finance, environment, health,  consumer protection,

free movement of people,  goods and services, commerce,

agriculture, fishing, monetary policy,  and so on and so forth!

No-one can say the work  of the European Parliament isn't diverse!