mseap

NEWS

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SUBJECT Europe's parliamentary downsizing after Brexit
DATE 2018-01-31
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The members of the committee on constitutional affairs proposed to reduce the number of seats in the European Union (EU) Parliament from 751 to 705 once the United Kingdom leaves the EU, according to members of the constitutional affairs committee.

 

 

Besides reducing its size, a proposed redistribution of seats, approved by the committee last Tuesday, would place 46 of the 73 UK seats to be freed up by Brexit in reserve.

 

 

The 46 seats, according to the committee, could then be designated to any new countries joining the EU.

 

 

The European Parliament building in Brussels, Belgium (Photo: European Parliament)

 

 

The other 27 former UK seats would be distributed among the 14 EU member states that are currently said to be slightly under-represented.

 

 

According to the proposal, which was approved by a 21-4 vote, the following countries will gain seats:

 

- France and Spain: 5

 

- Italy and Netherlands: 3

 

- Ireland: 2

 

- Poland, Romania, Sweden, Austria, Denmark, Slovakia, Finland, Croatia and Estonia: 1

 

 

The committee agreed that the number of Members of European Parliaments (MEPs) elected from an EU-wide constituency in the future should match the number of EU countries, as soon as the completion of the ongoing EU electoral law reform allows it.

 

 

Meanwhile, the EU General Affairs Council has adopted its negotiation guidelines for a Brexit transition period, proposing that it runs from March 2019 to 31 December 2020.

 

 

By MSEAP Cyber Secretariat (mseap@assembly.go.kr)