National parliaments of the European Union
Encyclopedia
The national parliaments of the European Union are those legislatures responsible for each member state of the European Union (EU). They have a certain degree of institutionalised influence which was expanded under the Treaty of Lisbon
to include greater ability to scrutinise proposed EU law.
(EP) as Member of the European Parliament
(MEPs). In 1979 the first direct elections
were held, however national MPs still tended to contest these leading to them holding a "dual mandate". As the work load of an MEP increased, the number of MEPs who were also national MPs decreased and since 2009 it has been banned in all member states.
In 1989 MPs from national parliaments and the European Parliament established the Conference of European Community Affairs Committees (COSAC) to maintain contact between national parliaments and the MEPs. COSAC continues to meet every six months and has now gained the right to submit contributions and examine proposals on EU law relating to Justice and Home Affairs
. Aside from COSAC, relations between the EP and national parliaments are dealt with by the Conference of Presidents. The EP seeks to keep national parliament's fully informed of the EPs activities and some EP committees regularly invites national MPs to discuss proposals.
However COSAC itself has little institutional structure and is largely leaderless meaning it is difficult for it to exercise its powers. Any concerted response tends to be spontaneous and self organised.
of 1993 expanded the EU's competencies into areas of justice and home affairs
, the treaty outlined the importance of exchanges between the European parliament and its national counterparts in a declaration attached to the treaty. This declaration asked national governments to ensure proposals for EU law were passed on to national parliaments with sufficient time for them to be scrutinised by MP and that contacts between these MPs and MEPs, began with COSAC, be stepped up.
This was strengthened under the Treaty of Amsterdam in a protocol stating all European Commission
consultation documents be promptly forwarded to national parliaments. They then have a six week period to discuss legislative proposals, starting from the publication of the proposal to it appearing on the agenda of the Council of the European Union
.
The Treaty of Lisbon
, in force from 1 December 2009, expanded the role of national parliaments. It sets out a right to information (TEU Article 12, TFEU Articles 70 and 352 and Protocol 1), monitoring of subsidiarity – see below – (TFEU Article 69), scrutinising policy in freedom, justice and security with the ability for a national parliament to veto a proposal (TEFU Articles 81, 85 and 88), taking part in treaty amendment (TEU Article 48) (including blocking a change of voting system to ordinary legislative procedure under the passerelle clause), being involved with enlargement
and generally being involved in dialogue with EU institutions
(TEU Article 12).
Their power to enforce the principle of subsidiarity is of particular note. The principle is that, unless EU institutions have exclusive power, action will only be taken at a European level if it were to be more effective than acting at a national level. If a national parliament believes this principle has been broken, then this triggers a two stage procedure: if one third of national parliaments agree that a proposal breaks the principle, then the Commission has to withdraw, amend or maintain it. If the Commission maintains its proposal and a majority of parliaments continue to object, then the Commission will have to explain its reasons. However it may still continue, as this power does not challenge the legislative role of the Council and European Parliament.
Prior to the Lisbon Treaty's enforcement, COSAC ran tests on the subsidiarity system to test and improve their response time to a question subsidiarity. Tests ended once Lisbon came into force and national parliament's responses to EU legislative proposals have become minimal. Although COSAC is primarily technical, it has been started to become more political especially since the Lisbon Treaty. They have begum to discuss more general political events and foreign policy issues. It is debated whether, in the limited time COSAC meetings have, it should be discussing subjects where it has such limited influence.
(WEU) was integrated into the European Union's Common Security and Defence Policy, the European Parliament
took on a greater role. However, the Assembly of the Western European Union was retained to hold members to account for military missions. With the European Parliament not see as sufficient to take over this role, there was some desire to see the WEU's Assembly retained, rather than abolished as the European Parliament wished. However with the closure of the WEU (and its assembly) in 2010, there were proposals to ensure that EU cooperation between national parliaments took over its role informally through regular meetings of defence-interested national MPs. The Lisbon Treaty calls for COSAC to establish a body to scrutinise European foreign and defence policy; however no agreement has been reached.
systems.
Unicameral or lower houses are always directly elected
, whereas an upper house may be directly elected (e.g. the Senate of Poland); or have a more limited electorate, such as a higher voting as (e.g. the Italian Senate
); or indirectly elected
, for example, by regional legislatures (e.g. the Federal Council of Austria
); or non-elected, but representing certain interest groups (e.g. the National Council of Slovenia
); or non-elected (though by and large appointed by elected officials) as a remnant of a non-democratic political system in earlier times (as in the House of Lords
in the United Kingdom).
Furthermore, most states are Parliamentary democracies
, hence the executive is drawn from the Parliament. However in some cases a more presidential system
is followed and hence there are separate elections for the head of government
and the Parliament, leading to greater discontinuity, yet more independence, between the two branches of government. However only Cyprus follows a fully presidential system, with France following a semi-presidential system
.
}
| colspan="2" | Federal Parliament (Federaal Parlement / Parlement Fédérale / Föderales Parlament)
|-
| Chamber of Representatives (Kamer van Volksvertegenwoordigers
/ Chambre des Représentants / Abgeordnetenkammer) (150)
| Senate (Senaat / Sénat / Senat)
(71)
|-
! style="text-align:left" |
Kingdom of Bulgaria
| unicameral
| colspan="2" | National Assembly (Народно събрание)
(240)
|-
! style="text-align:left" |
Cyprus
| unicameral
| colspan="2" | House of Representatives (Βουλή των Αντιπροσώπων / Temsilciler Meclisi)
(59)
|-
! rowspan="2" style="text-align:left" |
Czech Republic
| rowspan="2" | bicameral
| colspan="2" | Parliament (Parlament)
|-
| Chamber of Deputies (Poslanecká sněmovna)
(200)
| Senate (Senát)
(81)
|-
! style="text-align:left" |
Denmark
| unicameral
| colspan="2" | Parliament (Folketinget)
(179)
|-
! style="text-align:left" |
Estonia
| unicameral
| colspan="2" | State Assembly (Riigikogu) (101)
|-
! style="text-align:left" |
Finland
| unicameral
| colspan="2" | Parliament (Eduskunta / Riksdag)
(200)
|-
! rowspan="2" style="text-align:left" |
Early Modern France
| rowspan="2" | bicameral
| colspan="2" | Parliament (Parlement) / Congress (Congrès)
|-
| National Assembly (Assemblée nationale) (577)
| Senate (Sénat) (343)
|-
! rowspan="2" style="text-align:left" |
Germany
| rowspan="2" | bicameral
| colspan="2" | —
|-
| Federal Diet (Bundestag)
(622)
| Federal Council (Bundesrat)
(69)
|-
! style="text-align:left" |
Greece
| unicameral
| colspan="2" | Assembly of the Greeks (Βουλή των Ελλήνων)
(300)
|-
! style="text-align:left" |
Hungary
| unicameral
| colspan="2" | National Assembly (Országgyűlés)
(386)
|-
! rowspan="2" style="text-align:left" |
Republic of Ireland
| rowspan="2" | bicameral
| colspan="2" | Oireachtas (National Parliament")
|-
| Dáil Éireann (House of Representatives)
(166)
| Seanad Éireann (Senate)
(60)
|-
! rowspan="2" style="text-align:left" |
Italy
| rowspan="2" | bicameral
| colspan="2" | Parliament (Parlamento)
|-
| Chamber of Deputies (Camera dei Deputati)
(630)
| Senate of the Republic (Senato della Repubblica)
(315)
|-
! style="text-align:left" |
Latvia
| unicameral
| colspan="2" | Diet (Saeima)
(100)
|-
! style="text-align:left" |
Lithuania
| unicameral
| colspan="2" | Diet (Seimas)
(141)
|-
! style="text-align:left" |
Luxembourg
| unicameral
| colspan="2" | Chamber of Deputies (Chambre des Députés / Abgeordnetenkammer / Châmber vun Députéirten)
(60)
|-
! style="text-align:left" |
Malta
| unicameral
| colspan="2" | House of Representatives (Kamra tad-Deputati)
(69)
|-
! rowspan="2" style="text-align:left" |
Netherlands
| rowspan="2" | bicameral
| colspan="2" | States–General (Staten–Generaal)
|-
| Second Chamber (or House of Representatives; Tweede Kamer) (150)
| First Chamber (or Senate; Eerste Kamer) (75)
|-
! rowspan="2" style="text-align:left" |
Poland
| rowspan="2" | bicameral
| colspan="2" | National Assembly (Zgromadzenie Narodowe)
|-
| Diet (Sejm) (460)
| Senate (Senat) (100)
|-
! style="text-align:left" |
Portugal
| unicameral
| colspan="2" | Assembly of the Republic (Assembleia da República)
(230)
|-
! rowspan="2" style="text-align:left" |
Kingdom of Romania
| rowspan="2" | bicameral
| colspan="2" | Parliament (Parlamentul)
|-
| Chamber of Deputies (Camera Deputaţilor)
(332)
| Senate (Senat)
(137)
|-
! style="text-align:left" |
Slovakia
| unicameral
| colspan="2" | National Council (Národná rada)
(150)
|-
! rowspan="2" style="text-align:left" |
Slovenia
| rowspan="2" | bicameral
| colspan="2" | Parliament (Parlament)
|-
| National Assembly (Državni zbor)
(90)
| National Council (Državni svet)
(40)
|-
! rowspan="2" style="text-align:left" |
Spain
| rowspan="2" | bicameral
| colspan="2" | General Courts (Cortes Generales)
|-
| Congress of Deputies (Congreso de los Diputados) (350)
| Senate (Senado)
(259)
|-
! style="text-align:left" |
Sweden
| unicameral
| colspan="2" | Diet (Riksdagen)
(349)
|-
! rowspan="2" style="text-align:left" |
United Kingdom
| rowspan="2" | bicameral
| colspan="2" | Parliament
|-
| House of Commons
(646)
| House of Lords
(740)
|}
Treaty of Lisbon
The Treaty of Lisbon of 1668 was a peace treaty between Portugal and Spain, concluded at Lisbon on 13 February 1668, through the mediation of England, in which Spain recognized the sovereignty of Portugal's new ruling dynasty, the House of Braganza....
to include greater ability to scrutinise proposed EU law.
Relations
Originally, national members of Parliament (MPs) were appointed to the European ParliamentEuropean Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
(EP) as Member of the European Parliament
Member of the European Parliament
A Member of the European Parliament is a person who has been elected to the European Parliament. The name of MEPs differ in different languages, with terms such as europarliamentarian or eurodeputy being common in Romance language-speaking areas.When the European Parliament was first established,...
(MEPs). In 1979 the first direct elections
European Parliament election, 1979
The 1979 European elections were parliamentary elections held across all 9 European Community member states. They were the first European elections to be held, allowing citizens to elect 410 MEPs to the European Parliament, and also the first international election in history.Seats in the...
were held, however national MPs still tended to contest these leading to them holding a "dual mandate". As the work load of an MEP increased, the number of MEPs who were also national MPs decreased and since 2009 it has been banned in all member states.
In 1989 MPs from national parliaments and the European Parliament established the Conference of European Community Affairs Committees (COSAC) to maintain contact between national parliaments and the MEPs. COSAC continues to meet every six months and has now gained the right to submit contributions and examine proposals on EU law relating to Justice and Home Affairs
European Commissioner for Justice, Freedom & Security
The Commissioner for Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship is a post in the European Commission. The current commissioner is Viviane Reding....
. Aside from COSAC, relations between the EP and national parliaments are dealt with by the Conference of Presidents. The EP seeks to keep national parliament's fully informed of the EPs activities and some EP committees regularly invites national MPs to discuss proposals.
However COSAC itself has little institutional structure and is largely leaderless meaning it is difficult for it to exercise its powers. Any concerted response tends to be spontaneous and self organised.
Role and powers
Because the Maastricht TreatyMaastricht Treaty
The Maastricht Treaty was signed on 7 February 1992 by the members of the European Community in Maastricht, Netherlands. On 9–10 December 1991, the same city hosted the European Council which drafted the treaty...
of 1993 expanded the EU's competencies into areas of justice and home affairs
Police and Judicial Co-operation in Criminal Matters
The third of the three pillars of the European Union was Justice and Home Affairs , which was shrunk and renamed Police and Judicial Co-operation in Criminal Matters in 2003. The pillar existed between 1993 and 2009, when it was absorbed into a consolidated EU structure.The pillar focused on...
, the treaty outlined the importance of exchanges between the European parliament and its national counterparts in a declaration attached to the treaty. This declaration asked national governments to ensure proposals for EU law were passed on to national parliaments with sufficient time for them to be scrutinised by MP and that contacts between these MPs and MEPs, began with COSAC, be stepped up.
This was strengthened under the Treaty of Amsterdam in a protocol stating all European Commission
European Commission
The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....
consultation documents be promptly forwarded to national parliaments. They then have a six week period to discuss legislative proposals, starting from the publication of the proposal to it appearing on the agenda of the Council of the European Union
Council of the European Union
The Council of the European Union is the institution in the legislature of the European Union representing the executives of member states, the other legislative body being the European Parliament. The Council is composed of twenty-seven national ministers...
.
The Treaty of Lisbon
Treaty of Lisbon
The Treaty of Lisbon of 1668 was a peace treaty between Portugal and Spain, concluded at Lisbon on 13 February 1668, through the mediation of England, in which Spain recognized the sovereignty of Portugal's new ruling dynasty, the House of Braganza....
, in force from 1 December 2009, expanded the role of national parliaments. It sets out a right to information (TEU Article 12, TFEU Articles 70 and 352 and Protocol 1), monitoring of subsidiarity – see below – (TFEU Article 69), scrutinising policy in freedom, justice and security with the ability for a national parliament to veto a proposal (TEFU Articles 81, 85 and 88), taking part in treaty amendment (TEU Article 48) (including blocking a change of voting system to ordinary legislative procedure under the passerelle clause), being involved with enlargement
Enlargement of the European Union
The Enlargement of the European Union is the process of expanding the European Union through the accession of new member states. This process began with the Inner Six, who founded the European Coal and Steel Community in 1952...
and generally being involved in dialogue with EU institutions
Institutions of the European Union
The European Union is governed by seven institutions. Article 13 of Treaty on European Union lists them in the following order: the European Parliament, the European Council, the Council of the European Union, the European Commission, the Court of Justice of the European Union, the European...
(TEU Article 12).
Their power to enforce the principle of subsidiarity is of particular note. The principle is that, unless EU institutions have exclusive power, action will only be taken at a European level if it were to be more effective than acting at a national level. If a national parliament believes this principle has been broken, then this triggers a two stage procedure: if one third of national parliaments agree that a proposal breaks the principle, then the Commission has to withdraw, amend or maintain it. If the Commission maintains its proposal and a majority of parliaments continue to object, then the Commission will have to explain its reasons. However it may still continue, as this power does not challenge the legislative role of the Council and European Parliament.
Prior to the Lisbon Treaty's enforcement, COSAC ran tests on the subsidiarity system to test and improve their response time to a question subsidiarity. Tests ended once Lisbon came into force and national parliament's responses to EU legislative proposals have become minimal. Although COSAC is primarily technical, it has been started to become more political especially since the Lisbon Treaty. They have begum to discuss more general political events and foreign policy issues. It is debated whether, in the limited time COSAC meetings have, it should be discussing subjects where it has such limited influence.
Defence policy
As the Western European UnionWestern European Union
The Western European Union was an international organisation tasked with implementing the Modified Treaty of Brussels , an amended version of the original 1948 Treaty of Brussels...
(WEU) was integrated into the European Union's Common Security and Defence Policy, the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
took on a greater role. However, the Assembly of the Western European Union was retained to hold members to account for military missions. With the European Parliament not see as sufficient to take over this role, there was some desire to see the WEU's Assembly retained, rather than abolished as the European Parliament wished. However with the closure of the WEU (and its assembly) in 2010, there were proposals to ensure that EU cooperation between national parliaments took over its role informally through regular meetings of defence-interested national MPs. The Lisbon Treaty calls for COSAC to establish a body to scrutinise European foreign and defence policy; however no agreement has been reached.
Differences
There are a number of differences between the national parliaments of member states, owing to the various historical development of each country. 14 states have unicameral parliaments, with the remainders choosing bicameralBicameralism
In the government, bicameralism is the practice of having two legislative or parliamentary chambers. Thus, a bicameral parliament or bicameral legislature is a legislature which consists of two chambers or houses....
systems.
Unicameral or lower houses are always directly elected
Direct election
Direct election is a term describing a system of choosing political officeholders in which the voters directly cast ballots for the person, persons or political party that they desire to see elected. The method by which the winner or winners of a direct election are chosen depends upon the...
, whereas an upper house may be directly elected (e.g. the Senate of Poland); or have a more limited electorate, such as a higher voting as (e.g. the Italian Senate
Italian Senate
The Senate of the Republic is the upper house of the Italian Parliament. It was established in its current form on 8 May 1948, but previously existed during the Kingdom of Italy as Senato del Regno , itself a continuation of the Senato Subalpino of Sardinia-Piedmont established on 8 May 1848...
); or indirectly elected
Indirect election
Indirect election is a process in which voters in an election don't actually choose between candidates for an office but rather elect persons who will then make the choice. It is one of the oldest form of elections and is still used today for many upper houses and presidents...
, for example, by regional legislatures (e.g. the Federal Council of Austria
Federal Council of Austria
The Federal Council of Austria or Bundesrat is the second chamber of the Austrian parliament, representing the nine States of Austria on federal level. As part of a bicameral legislature alongside of the National Council of Austria , it can be compared with an upper house or a senate...
); or non-elected, but representing certain interest groups (e.g. the National Council of Slovenia
National Council (Slovenia)
The National Council is according to the Constitution of Slovenia the representative of social, economic, professional and local interest groups in Slovenia and has a legislative function working as a corrective mechanism of the National Assembly, although it does not itself pass acts. It may be...
); or non-elected (though by and large appointed by elected officials) as a remnant of a non-democratic political system in earlier times (as in the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
in the United Kingdom).
Furthermore, most states are Parliamentary democracies
Parliamentary system
A parliamentary system is a system of government in which the ministers of the executive branch get their democratic legitimacy from the legislature and are accountable to that body, such that the executive and legislative branches are intertwined....
, hence the executive is drawn from the Parliament. However in some cases a more presidential system
Presidential system
A presidential system is a system of government where an executive branch exists and presides separately from the legislature, to which it is not responsible and which cannot, in normal circumstances, dismiss it....
is followed and hence there are separate elections for the head of government
Head of government
Head of government is the chief officer of the executive branch of a government, often presiding over a cabinet. In a parliamentary system, the head of government is often styled prime minister, chief minister, premier, etc...
and the Parliament, leading to greater discontinuity, yet more independence, between the two branches of government. However only Cyprus follows a fully presidential system, with France following a semi-presidential system
Semi-presidential system
The semi-presidential system is a system of government in which a president and a prime minister are both active participants in the day-to-day administration of the state...
.
List
| Member state | Parliamentary system |
Overall name of legislature | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lower house Lower house A lower house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house.Despite its official position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide the lower house has come to wield more power... (members) |
Upper house Upper house An upper house, often called a senate, is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house; a legislature composed of only one house is described as unicameral.- Possible specific characteristics :... (members) |
||
 Austria |
bicameral Bicameralism In the government, bicameralism is the practice of having two legislative or parliamentary chambers. Thus, a bicameral parliament or bicameral legislature is a legislature which consists of two chambers or houses.... |
Federal Assembly (Bundesversammlung) Federal Assembly of Austria The Federal Assembly is the name given to a formal joint session of the two houses of the Austrian federal parliament, the National Council and the Federal Council.... |
|
| National Council (Nationalrat) National Council of Austria The National Council is one of the two houses of the Austrian parliament. According to the constitution, the National Council and the complementary Federal Council are peers... (183) |
Federal Council (Bundesrat) Federal Council of Austria The Federal Council of Austria or Bundesrat is the second chamber of the Austrian parliament, representing the nine States of Austria on federal level. As part of a bicameral legislature alongside of the National Council of Austria , it can be compared with an upper house or a senate... (62) |
||
 Belgium |
|||
| colspan="2" | Federal Parliament (Federaal Parlement / Parlement Fédérale / Föderales Parlament)
Belgian Federal Parliament
The Belgian Federal Parliament is a bicameral parliament. It consists of the Chamber of Representatives and the Senate . It sits in the Palace of the Nation .- Chamber of Representatives :...
|-
| Chamber of Representatives (Kamer van Volksvertegenwoordigers
/ Chambre des Représentants / Abgeordnetenkammer) (150)
| Senate (Senaat / Sénat / Senat)
Belgian Senate
The Belgian Senate is one of the two chambers of the bicameral Federal Parliament of Belgium, the other being the Chamber of Representatives. It is considered to be the "upper house" of the Federal Parliament.-History and future:...
(71)
|-
! style="text-align:left" |
Kingdom of Bulgaria| unicameral
Unicameralism
In government, unicameralism is the practice of having one legislative or parliamentary chamber. Thus, a unicameral parliament or unicameral legislature is a legislature which consists of one chamber or house...
| colspan="2" | National Assembly (Народно събрание)
National Assembly of Bulgaria
The National Assembly of Bulgaria is the unicameral parliament and body of the legislative of the Republic of Bulgaria.The National Assembly of Bulgaria was established in 1879 with the Constitution of Bulgaria.-Ordinary National Assembly:...
(240)
|-
! style="text-align:left" |
Cyprus| unicameral
| colspan="2" | House of Representatives (Βουλή των Αντιπροσώπων / Temsilciler Meclisi)
House of Representatives of Cyprus
The House of Representatives is the parliament of Cyprus. It has 59 members elected for a five year term, 56 members by proportional representation and 3 observer members representing the Maronite, Latin and Armenian minorities...
(59)
|-
! rowspan="2" style="text-align:left" |
Czech Republic| rowspan="2" | bicameral
| colspan="2" | Parliament (Parlament)
Parliament of the Czech Republic
The Parliament of the Czech Republic is the legislative body of the Czech Republic, based in Prague. It consists of two chambers, both elected in direct elections:* the Lower House: Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic...
|-
| Chamber of Deputies (Poslanecká sněmovna)
Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic
The Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of the Czech Republic. The seat of the Chamber of Deputies is situated in palaces in Malá Strana, Prague....
(200)
| Senate (Senát)
Senate of the Czech Republic
The Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic , usually referred to as Senát, is the upper chamber of the Parliament of the Czech Republic...
(81)
|-
! style="text-align:left" |
Denmark| unicameral
| colspan="2" | Parliament (Folketinget)
Folketing
The Folketing , is the national parliament of Denmark. The name literally means "People's thing"—that is, the people's governing assembly. It is located in Christiansborg Palace, on the islet of Slotsholmen in central Copenhagen....
(179)
|-
! style="text-align:left" |
Estonia| unicameral
| colspan="2" | State Assembly (Riigikogu) (101)
|-
! style="text-align:left" |
Finland| unicameral
| colspan="2" | Parliament (Eduskunta / Riksdag)
Parliament of Finland
The Eduskunta , is the parliament of Finland. The unicameral parliament has 200 members and meets in the Parliament House in Helsinki. The latest election to the parliament took place on April 17, 2011.- Constitution :...
(200)
|-
! rowspan="2" style="text-align:left" |
Early Modern France| rowspan="2" | bicameral
| colspan="2" | Parliament (Parlement) / Congress (Congrès)
|-
| National Assembly (Assemblée nationale) (577)
| Senate (Sénat) (343)
|-
! rowspan="2" style="text-align:left" |
Germany| rowspan="2" | bicameral
| colspan="2" | —
|-
| Federal Diet (Bundestag)
Bundestag
The Bundestag is a federal legislative body in Germany. In practice Germany is governed by a bicameral legislature, of which the Bundestag serves as the lower house and the Bundesrat the upper house. The Bundestag is established by the German Basic Law of 1949, as the successor to the earlier...
(622)
| Federal Council (Bundesrat)
Bundesrat of Germany
The German Bundesrat is a legislative body that represents the sixteen Länder of Germany at the federal level...
(69)
|-
! style="text-align:left" |
Greece| unicameral
| colspan="2" | Assembly of the Greeks (Βουλή των Ελλήνων)
Hellenic Parliament
The Hellenic Parliament , also the Parliament of the Hellenes, is the Parliament of Greece, located in the Parliament House , overlooking Syntagma Square in Athens, Greece....
(300)
|-
! style="text-align:left" |
Hungary| unicameral
| colspan="2" | National Assembly (Országgyűlés)
National Assembly of Hungary
The National Assembly or Diet is the parliament of Hungary. The unicameral body consists of 386 members elected to 4-year terms. Election of members is based on a complex system involving both area and list election; parties must win at least 5% of the popular vote in order to enter list members...
(386)
|-
! rowspan="2" style="text-align:left" |
Republic of Ireland| rowspan="2" | bicameral
| colspan="2" | Oireachtas (National Parliament")
Oireachtas
The Oireachtas , sometimes referred to as Oireachtas Éireann, is the "national parliament" or legislature of Ireland. The Oireachtas consists of:*The President of Ireland*The two Houses of the Oireachtas :**Dáil Éireann...
|-
| Dáil Éireann (House of Representatives)
Dáil Éireann
Dáil Éireann is the lower house, but principal chamber, of the Oireachtas , which also includes the President of Ireland and Seanad Éireann . It is directly elected at least once in every five years under the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote...
(166)
| Seanad Éireann (Senate)
Seanad Éireann
Seanad Éireann is the upper house of the Oireachtas , which also comprises the President of Ireland and Dáil Éireann . It is commonly called the Seanad or Senate and its members Senators or Seanadóirí . Unlike Dáil Éireann, it is not directly elected but consists of a mixture of members chosen by...
(60)
|-
! rowspan="2" style="text-align:left" |
Italy| rowspan="2" | bicameral
| colspan="2" | Parliament (Parlamento)
Parliament of Italy
The Parliament of Italy is the national parliament of Italy. It is a bicameral legislature with 945 elected members . The Chamber of Deputies, with 630 members is the lower house. The Senate of the Republic is the upper house and has 315 members .Since 2005, a party list electoral law is being...
|-
| Chamber of Deputies (Camera dei Deputati)
Italian Chamber of Deputies
The Italian Chamber of Deputies is the lower house of the Parliament of Italy. It has 630 seats, a plurality of which is controlled presently by liberal-conservative party People of Freedom. Twelve deputies represent Italian citizens outside of Italy. Deputies meet in the Palazzo Montecitorio. A...
(630)
| Senate of the Republic (Senato della Repubblica)
Italian Senate
The Senate of the Republic is the upper house of the Italian Parliament. It was established in its current form on 8 May 1948, but previously existed during the Kingdom of Italy as Senato del Regno , itself a continuation of the Senato Subalpino of Sardinia-Piedmont established on 8 May 1848...
(315)
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Latvia| unicameral
| colspan="2" | Diet (Saeima)
Saeima
Saeima is the parliament of the Republic of Latvia. It is a unicameral parliament consisting of 100 members who are elected by proportional representation, with seats allocated to political parties which gain at least 5% of the popular vote. Elections are scheduled to be held once every four years,...
(100)
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Lithuania| unicameral
| colspan="2" | Diet (Seimas)
Seimas
The Seimas is the unicameral Lithuanian parliament. It has 141 members that are elected for a four-year term. About half of the members of this legislative body are elected in individual constituencies , and the other half are elected by nationwide vote according to proportional representation...
(141)
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Luxembourg| unicameral
| colspan="2" | Chamber of Deputies (Chambre des Députés / Abgeordnetenkammer / Châmber vun Députéirten)
Chamber of Deputies of Luxembourg
The Chamber of Deputies , abbreviated to the Chamber, is the unicameral national legislature of Luxembourg. 'Krautmaart' is sometimes used as a metonym for the Chamber, after the square on which the Hôtel de la Chambre is located....
(60)
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Malta| unicameral
| colspan="2" | House of Representatives (Kamra tad-Deputati)
House of Representatives of Malta
The House of Representatives is the unicameral legislature of Malta and a component of the Parliament of Malta.The House is composed of an odd number of members elected for a five year term...
(69)
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Netherlands| rowspan="2" | bicameral
| colspan="2" | States–General (Staten–Generaal)
States-General of the Netherlands
The States-General of the Netherlands is the bicameral legislature of the Netherlands, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The parliament meets in at the Binnenhof in The Hague. The archaic Dutch word "staten" originally related to the feudal classes in which medieval...
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| Second Chamber (or House of Representatives; Tweede Kamer) (150)
| First Chamber (or Senate; Eerste Kamer) (75)
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Poland| rowspan="2" | bicameral
| colspan="2" | National Assembly (Zgromadzenie Narodowe)
National Assembly of Poland
The National Assembly is the name of both chambers of the Polish parliament, the Sejm and the Senate, when sitting in joint session...
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| Diet (Sejm) (460)
| Senate (Senat) (100)
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Portugal| unicameral
| colspan="2" | Assembly of the Republic (Assembleia da República)
Assembly of the Republic
The Assembly of the Republic is the Portuguese parliament. It is located in a historical building in Lisbon, referred to as Palácio de São Bento, the site of an old Benedictine monastery...
(230)
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! rowspan="2" style="text-align:left" |
Kingdom of Romania| rowspan="2" | bicameral
| colspan="2" | Parliament (Parlamentul)
Parliament of Romania
The Parliament of Romania is made up of two chambers:*The Chamber of Deputies*The SenatePrior to the modifications of the Constitution in 2003, the two houses had identical attributes. A text of a law had to be approved by both houses...
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| Chamber of Deputies (Camera Deputaţilor)
Chamber of Deputies of Romania
The Chamber of Deputies is the lower house in Romania's bicameral parliament. It has 315 seats, to which deputies are elected by direct popular vote on a proportional representation basis to serve four-year terms...
(332)
| Senate (Senat)
Senate of Romania
The Senate of Romania is the upper house in the bicameral Parliament of Romania. It has 137 seats , to which members are elected by direct popular vote, using Mixed member proportional representation in 42 electoral districts , to serve four-year terms.-Former location:After the Romanian...
(137)
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Slovakia| unicameral
| colspan="2" | National Council (Národná rada)
National Council of the Slovak Republic
The National Council of the Slovak Republic , abbreviated to NR SR, is the national parliament of Slovakia. It is unicameral, and consists of 150 MPs, who are elected by universal suffrage under proportional representation every four years....
(150)
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! rowspan="2" style="text-align:left" |
Slovenia| rowspan="2" | bicameral
| colspan="2" | Parliament (Parlament)
Slovenian Parliament
The Slovenian Parliament is the informal designation of the general representative body of the Slovenian nation and the legislative body of the Republic of Slovenia....
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| National Assembly (Državni zbor)
National Assembly (Slovenia)
The National Assembly is the general representative body of the Slovenian nation. According to the Constitution of Slovenia and the Constitutional Court of Slovenia, it is the major part of the distinctively incompletely bicameral legislative branch of the Republic of Slovenia. It is unicameral...
(90)
| National Council (Državni svet)
National Council (Slovenia)
The National Council is according to the Constitution of Slovenia the representative of social, economic, professional and local interest groups in Slovenia and has a legislative function working as a corrective mechanism of the National Assembly, although it does not itself pass acts. It may be...
(40)
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Spain| rowspan="2" | bicameral
| colspan="2" | General Courts (Cortes Generales)
Cortes Generales
The Cortes Generales is the legislature of Spain. It is a bicameral parliament, composed of the Congress of Deputies and the Senate . The Cortes has power to enact any law and to amend the constitution...
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| Congress of Deputies (Congreso de los Diputados) (350)
| Senate (Senado)
Spanish Senate
The Senate of Spain is the upper house of Spain's parliament, the . It is made up of 264 members: 208 elected by popular vote, and 56 appointed by the regional legislatures. All senators serve four-year terms, though regional legislatures may recall their appointees at any time.The last election...
(259)
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Sweden| unicameral
| colspan="2" | Diet (Riksdagen)
Parliament of Sweden
The Riksdag is the national legislative assembly of Sweden. The riksdag is a unicameral assembly with 349 members , who are elected on a proportional basis to serve fixed terms of four years...
(349)
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! rowspan="2" style="text-align:left" |
United Kingdom| rowspan="2" | bicameral
| colspan="2" | Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
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| House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
(646)
| House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
(740)
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See also
- European ParliamentEuropean ParliamentThe European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
- Member of the European ParliamentMember of the European ParliamentA Member of the European Parliament is a person who has been elected to the European Parliament. The name of MEPs differ in different languages, with terms such as europarliamentarian or eurodeputy being common in Romance language-speaking areas.When the European Parliament was first established,...
- List of legislatures by country