EU Project: The European Parliament

The European Parliament (EP), which is located in Brussels, Strasbourg and Luxembourg, is one of the main institutions of the European Union. It consists of a current total of 766 representatives who come from all 28 member states and are directly elected by the citizens of the EU.This direct universal suffrage is an integral element of democracy. Anyone who is a citizen of the Union has the right to vote for the members of the EP for a five-year period. Additionally, any European citizen can run for membership as long as they fulfill certain requirements; for example they need to be 18 or older and must have the right to vote in their country of residence. Once the Parliament is elected, it oversees several tasks such as debating and passing laws together with the European Council (EC). The EP and the EC also adopt the annual budget together. Another function of the EP is to supervise other EU institutions to make sure that they are working democratically. Through all these responsibilities the European Parliament has become one of the most powerful legislatures in the world.

by Maria Dorner, Bianca Stadler and Livia Perschy

EU individual paragraph: What is the European Parliament?

Brainstorming:

European Parliament, headquarters (Brussels, Strasbourg, Luxembourg), European Election (directly by citizens, every 5 years), 3 major tasks (debate and pass laws, supervision of different institutions within the EU, annual budget)

 

The European Parliament (EP), as an institution of the EU, represents all citizens of the Union. In Brussels, Strasbourg and Luxembourg can be found the headquarters of the institution where conferences, meetings, etc. take place. Every member state is allowed to elect the EP for a five years period of time. Unfortunately the turnout at the European Elections went down dramatically during the last 30 years (Austria 2009: 45, 97%). A possible reason could be that the citizens entitled to vote are not well enough informed about the responsibilities of the EP. In general, it performs three major tasks: First, together with the Council of the European Union and the European Commission it debates and passes laws. Second, to guarantee the democratic working method within the EU, it supervises different institutions in particular the European Commission. Third, the EP is in charge of setting and adopting a plan for the annual budget of the Union in cooperation with the Council of the European Union. Clearly the European Parliament is one of the most powerful institutions within “a Europe united in diversity”. 

Feedback summary 1 (Topic Sentence, Register):

In general, the others liked my topic sentence but it does not really fit with the rest of the text. I totally agree with this statement! They suggested that I could make the concluding sentence my new topic sentence and look for a better ending  


Revised Version (1):

Ever since the creation of the European Parliament in 1952, it is impossible to imagine the European Union without such an essential institution. In Brussels, Strasbourg and Luxembourg can be found the headquarters of the institution where conferences, meetings, etc. take place. Every member state is allowed to elect the EP for a five years period of time. Unfortunately the turnout at the European Elections went down dramatically during the last 30 years (Austria 2009: 45, 97%). A possible reason could be that the citizens entitled to vote are not well enough informed about the responsibilities of the EP. In general, it performs three major tasks: First, together with the Council of the European Union and the European Commission it debates and passes laws. Second, to guarantee the democratic working method within the EU, it supervises different institutions in particular the European Commission. Third, the EP is in charge of setting and adopting a plan for the annual budget of the Union in cooperation with the Council of the European Union. Clearly the European Parliament is one of the most powerful institutions within “a Europe united in diversity”. 

Feedback summary 2 (cohesion, vocabulary, major No No's):

I have to restructure sentence 2.

Some comma mistakes.

I should put "e.g." before I list an example.   

Final Version:

Ever since the creation of the European Parliament in 1952, it is impossible to imagine the European Union without such an essential institution. The headquarters of the Parliament where conferences, meetings, etc. take place, can be found in Brussels, Strasbourg and Luxembourg. Every member state is allowed to elect the EP for a five years period of time. Unfortunately, the turnout at the European Elections went down dramatically during the last 30 years (e.g. Austria 2009: 45, 97%). A possible reason could be that the citizens entitled to vote are not well enough informed about the responsibilities of the EP. In general, it performs three major tasks: First, together with the Council of the European Union and the European Commission, it debates and passes laws. Second, to guarantee the democratic working method within the EU, it supervises different institutions, in particular the European Commission. Third, the EP is in charge of setting and adopting a plan for the annual budget of the Union in cooperation with the Council of the European Union. Clearly the European Parliament is one of the most powerful institutions within “a Europe united in diversity”.

 

   Final Version 2:

Ever since the European Parliament (EP) has been created, it is impossible to imagine the European Union without such an essential institution. The headquarters of the Parliament, where conferences, meetings, etc. take place, can be found in Brussels, Strasbourg and Luxembourg. Every member state is allowed to elect its members of the EP for a five year period of time. Unfortunately, the turnout at the European Elections decreased  during the last 30 years (for example in Austria from 67.73% in 1996 to 45. 97% in 2009). A possible reason could be that citizens entitled to vote are not well enough informed about the responsibilities of the EP. In general, it performs three major tasks; first, together with the Council of the European Union and the European Commission, it debates and passes laws; second, it supervises different EU institutions, particularly the Commission, to garantuee that they are working democatically; third, the EP is in charge of setting and adopting a plan for the annual budget of the Union in cooperation with the Council of the European Union. Obviously, the European Parliament is one of the most powerful institutions within “a Europe united in diversity”.