European ParliamentInternational

The European Parliament is the directly elected legislative institution of the European Union, representing EU citizens alongside the Council of the European Union. Its mandate includes co-legislating EU regulations and directives, exercising democratic oversight over the European Commission and other EU bodies, and jointly approving the annual EU budget. Tracing its historical origins to the Common Assembly of the European Coal and Steel Community established in 1952, the institution introduced direct universal suffrage elections in 1979, with Bulgaria electing its first full members following its accession to the European Union in 2007.