How are MEPs elected?
EU citizens elect the Members of the European Parliament every five years. The first European elections took place in 1979, prior to which MEPs were appointed by each of the Member States’ national parliaments.
Following the most recent elections in 2024, the European Parliament has 720 seats, and EU treaties establish the allocation per country. Each Member State elects a set number of Members of the European Parliament (MEPs); from six, in smaller Member States such as Malta, Luxembourg and Cyprus, to 96 in Germany, the largest.
Countries with larger populations elect more seats than smaller ones. However, the principle of “degressive proportionality” ensures more seats per capita go to less populous Member States.
National electoral laws largely govern European elections, but there are some common EU rules. The common rules concerning European elections are defined in the Treaty on European Union, the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (articles 20, 22 and 223), the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, and the Electoral Act of 1976. Members of the European Parliament are elected on the basis of proportional representation.
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