Apportionment in the European Parliament

When the Parliament was established in the 1950s as the 78-member "Common Assembly of the European Coal and Steel Community" the then-three smaller states (Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands) were concerned about being under-represented and hence they were granted more seats than their population would have allowed. Membership increased to 142 with the Assembly expanded to cover the Economic and Atomic Energy Communities.[3]

It then grew further with each enlargement, which each time allowing smaller nations to have greater proportion of seats relative to larger states. Membership reached 626 in 1995 with the Treaty of Amsterdam setting a limit of 700. The Treaty of Nice increased this to 732 and set out the future distribution for up to 27 states. In 2007 Romania and Bulgaria joined with 35 and 18 members respectively temporarily pushing the number of members over the ceiling to 785.[3] In 2009 the number of members decreased to 736.

In December 2011 an amendment had temporarily increased the Lisbon limit to 754.[4][5] This allowed member states who gained seats under Lisbon to take them before the 2014 election, while allowing Germany which lost seats under Lisbon to retain them until the 2014 election.

In July 2013, the European Parliament had 766 members (MEPs).[6] This included three legacy members from Germany serving until the end of their term and twelve new members from Croatia who joined the Union on 1 July 2013.

After the 2020 withdrawal, 46 of United Kingdom's 73 European Parliament seats became unallocated, reducing the total number of MEPs in Brussels down to 705. The remaining 27 seats were redistributed among some of the remaining member states that were judged to have less adequate proportion.[7]

The 2009 European parliamentary elections were conducted under the rules included in the Nice Treaty which provided for a maximum number of 736, although that figure had been breached on the accession of new members to the EU, these states being allowed parliamentary representation without a corresponding reduction in the number of MEPs allotted to other member states. This happened in 2007 on the accession of Romania and Bulgaria, when the number of seats temporarily increased to 785. It subsequently returned to 736 in the 2009 election.[3]

A total of 736 seats for about 500 million EU citizens meant that there were on average 670,000 citizens represented by each MEP. Some states divide the electorate for their allocated MEPs into sub-national constituencies. However, they may not be divided in such a way that the system would no longer be proportional.

Number of seats plotted against the population of each State (Nice 2007)

Relative influence of voters from different EU member states (2019)[8]

Member state	Population millions	MEPs	Inhabitants per MEP	Influence[9]
Austria	8.86	19	466,251	1,36
Belgium	11.47	21	546,092	1,16
Bulgaria	7.00	17	411,767	1,54
Croatia	4.08	12	339,687	1,87
Cyprus	0.88	6	145,983	4,34
Czech Republic	10.65	21	507,133	1,25
Denmark	5.81	14	414,720	1,53
Estonia	1.32	7	189,260	3,35
Finland	5.52	14	394,137	1,61
France	67.03	79	848,456	0,75
Germany	83.02	96	864,783	0,73
Greece	10.72	21	510,585	1,24
Hungary	9.80	21	466,551	1,36
Ireland	4.90	13	377,248	1,68
Italy	60.36	76	794,205	0,80
Latvia	1.92	8	239,996	2,64
Lithuania	2.79	11	254,017	2,50
Luxembourg	0.61	6	102,316	6,19
Malta	0.49	6	82,260	7,71
Netherlands	17.28	29	595,937	1,06
Poland	37.97	52	730,246	0,87
Portugal	10.28	21	489,363	1,08
Romania	19.40	33	587,929	1,08
Slovakia	5.45	14	389,316	1,63
Slovenia	2.08	8	260,114	2,44
Spain	46.93	59	795,502	0,80
Sweden	10.23	21	487,152	1,30
European Union	446.86	705	633,843	1.00

Under the Lisbon Treaty, which first applied to the 2014 Parliament elections, the cap on the number of seats was raised to 750, with a maximum of 96 and a minimum of 6 seats per state. They continue to be distributed "degressively proportional" to the populations of the EU's member states.[10] Germany lost three seats, while Spain gained four. France, Sweden and Austria gained two seats each and eight other countries each gained one seat.[11] Following the accession of Croatia on 1 July 2013 with 12 extra seats, the apportionment was amended for the 2014 elections,[12] when 12 countries lost one seat (including Croatia itself).

European Parliament Apportionment changes between the Treaty of Nice and the Treaty of Lisbon (as calculated for purposes of the 2009 European Elections)
Member state	2007 Nice	2009 Nice	2014 Lisbon	2014c + Croatia		Member state	2007 Nice	2009 Nice	2014 Lisbon	2014c + Croatia		Member state	2007 Nice	2009 Nice	2014 Lisbon	2014c + Croatia
Germany	99	99	96	96		Czech Republic	24	22	22	21		Slovakia	14	13	13	13
France	78	72	74	74		Greece	24	22	22	21		Croatia	–	–	–	11
United Kingdoma	78	72	73	73		Hungary	24	22	22	21		Ireland	13	12	12	11
Italy	78	72	73	73		Portugal	24	22	22	21		Lithuania	13	12	12	11
Spain	54	50	54	54		Sweden	19	18	20	20		Latvia	9	8	9	8
Poland	54	50	51	51		Austria	18	17	19	18		Slovenia	7	7	8	8
Romania	35	33	33	32		Bulgaria	18	17	18	17		Cyprus	6	6	6	6
Netherlands	27	25	26	26		Finland	14	13	13	13		Estonia	6	6	6	6
Belgium	24	22	22	21		Denmark	14	13	13	13		Luxembourg	6	6	6	6
Italicised countries are divided into sub-national constituencies. a Included Gibraltar, but not any other BOT (including the SBAs), nor the Crown dependencies. The United Kingdom and Gibraltar left the European Union on 31 January 2020. b The speaker is not counted officially, thus leaving 750 MEPs. c As proposed by European Parliament on 13 March 2013.[12]
												Malta	5	5	6	6
												Total:	785	736	751b	751b

There was controversy over the fact that the population figures are based on residents, not citizens, resulting in countries with larger disenfranchised immigrant populations gaining more under Lisbon than those with smaller ones.[13] Italy would have been the greatest loser under the Lisbon system and sought the same number of MEPs as France and the United Kingdom. Italy raised the issue during treaty negotiations and succeeded in gaining one extra MEP (giving it the same as the UK) while the President of the European Parliament would not be counted as a lawmaker hence keeping the number of MEPs to the 750-seat limit.[14] MEPs also intended to propose amendments well in advance of the 2014 elections to take account of demographic changes. It was hoped that this would avoid the political horse trading that occurs when the numbers need to be revised.[11] On 13 March 2013 the European Parliament voted a new proposal updating seat assignments per country for 2014,[12] taking into account demographic changes and bringing the total number of seats back to the nominal 751 enshrined in the Lisbon Treaty. The same document suggests the creation of a formal process "based on objective criteria to be applied in a pragmatic manner" for apportioning seats in future elections.

The 2011 apportionment of members in the European Parliament reflects an amendment to the Lisbon Treaty which came into force on 1 December 2011.[15][16] This amendment, in effect, institutes a transitional manner of distributing MEPs to take account of the fact that the 2009 European Parliamentary elections took place under the rules contained in the Nice Treaty and not in the Lisbon Treaty. That result means that member state that are to gain seats in parliament under the Lisbon rules may take them, but that Germany which loses three seats under the Lisbon rules keeps those seats until the next elections, due in 2014.[17] As a result, Germany temporarily exceeds the maximum number of MEPs allocatable to a member state under the Lisbon Treaty by having 99 MEPs, three above the intended limit.

State	Joined	Population 2006	Population 2017	Sep 1952	Mar 1957	Jan 1973	Jun 1979	Jan 1981	Jan 1986	Jun 1994	Jan 1995	May 2004	Jun 2004	Jan 2007	Jun 2009	Dec 2011	Jul 2013	Jun 2014	Feb 2020
Germany	1951	82,428,000	82,521,653	18	36	36	81	81	81	99	99	99	99	99	99	99	99	96	96
France	1951	62,886,000	66,989,083	18	36	36	81	81	81	87	87	87	78	78	72	74	74	74	79
United Kingdom	1973	60,422,000	65,808,573			36	81	81	81	87	87	87	78	78	72	73	73	73
Italy	1951	58,752,000	60,589,445	18	36	36	81	81	81	87	87	87	78	78	72	73	73	73	76
Spain	1986	43,758,000	46,528,024						60	64	64	64	54	54	50	54	54	54	59
Poland	2004	38,157,000	37,972,964									54	54	54	50	51	51	51	52
Romania	2007	21,610,000	19,644,350											35	33	33	33	32	33
Netherlands	1951	16,334,000	17,081,507	10	14	14	25	25	25	31	31	31	27	27	25	26	26	26	29
Belgium	1951	10,511,000	11,351,727	10	14	14	24	24	24	25	25	25	24	24	22	22	22	21	21
Greece	1981	11,125,000	10,768,193					24	24	25	25	25	24	24	22	22	22	21	21
Czech Republic	2004	10,251,000	10,578,820									24	24	24	22	22	22	21	21
Portugal	1986	10,570,000	10,309,573						24	25	25	25	24	24	22	22	22	21	21
Sweden	1995	9,048,000	9,995,153								22	22	19	19	18	20	20	20	21
Hungary	2004	10,077,000	9,797,561									24	24	24	22	22	22	21	21
Austria	1995	8,266,000	8,772,865								21	21	18	18	17	19	19	18	19
Bulgaria	2007	7,719,000	7,101,859											18	17	18	18	17	17
Denmark	1973	5,428,000	5,748,769			10	16	16	16	16	16	16	14	14	13	13	13	13	14
Finland	1995	5,256,000	5,503,297								16	16	14	14	13	13	13	13	14
Slovakia	2004	5,389,000	5,435,343									14	14	14	13	13	13	13	14
Ireland	1973	4,209,000	4,784,383			10	15	15	15	15	15	15	13	13	12	12	12	11	13
Croatia	2013	4,443,000	4,154,213														12	11	12
Lithuania	2004	3,403,000	2,847,904									13	13	13	12	12	12	11	11
Slovenia	2004	2,003,000	2,065,895									7	7	7	7	8	8	8	8
Latvia	2004	2,295,000	1,950,116									9	9	9	8	9	9	8	8
Estonia	2004	1,344,000	1,315,635									6	6	6	6	6	6	6	7
Cyprus	2004	766,000	854,802									6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6
Luxembourg	1951	460,000	590,667	4	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6
Malta	2004	404,000	460,297									5	5	5	5	6	6	6	6
Total		494,070,000	511,522,671	78	142	198	410	434	518	567	626	788	732	785	736	754	766	751	705

Source for MEP figures 1952–2004: European Navigator. Source for population figures and MEP figures for 2007 and 2009: European Parliament, full population figures . December 2011 figures reflect the members added to the European Parliament by the Protocol Amending the Protocol on Transitional Provisions (OJ 29.9.2010, C 263, p. 1) which came into force on 1 December 2011. Figures for 2019 follow parliamentary decision of February 2018.

Since October 2008,[18] MEP Andrew Duff (ALDE, UK) has advocated within the European Parliament for a reform of EU electoral law for the 2014 elections, including the creation of a single constituency of 25 seats in which each European citizen would be entitled to vote on the basis of pan-European lists. He has been nominated rapporteur, as the European Parliament has the right of initiative in this field ruled by unanimity in the Council.

After the 2009 election, Andrew Duff proposed a new version of his report,[19] which was adopted by the parliamentary Committee on Constitutional Affairs (AFCO) in April 2011. However, the plenary session of the Parliament referred the report back to the AFCO committee in July 2011. A third version of the report[20] was published in September 2011 and adopted by the AFCO committee in January 2012, but was withdrawn before being discussed in plenary in March 2012 for fear that it would likely be turned down.

Number of seats in EP 2014–2019 versus number of inhabitants, showing difference with proportionality.

Apportionment in the European Parliament

Constituency	2007	2009	Dec. 2011[21]	1 July 2013[22]	A. Duff's 1st prop. for 2014[23][24]	A. Duff's 2nd prop.[25]			European Council Decision 2014[26]	Population in 2013[27]	Population per MEPs
						2014	2019	2024
Pan-European	–	–	–	–	25	–	–	–	–	–	–
Germany	99	99	99	99	96	96	96	96	96	80,523,746	838,789
France	78	72	74	74	83	79	83	83	74	65,633,194	886,935
United Kingdom	78	72	73	73	80	76	79	80	73	63,896,071	875,289
Italy	78	72	73	73	78	75	78	78	73	59,685,227	817,606
Spain	54	50	54	54	61	58	61	61	54	46,704,308	864,895
Poland	54	50	51	51	51	51	51	51	51	38,533,299	755,555
Romania	35	33	33	33	31	31	31	31	32	20,020,074	625,627
Netherlands	27	25	26	26	25	25	25	25	26	16,779,575	645,368
Belgium	24	22	22	22	18	20	19	19	21	11,161,642	531,507
Greece	24	22	22	22	19	20	19	19	21	11,062,508	526,786
Czech Republic	24	22	22	22	18	20	18	18	21	10,516,125	500,768
Portugal	24	22	22	22	18	20	18	18	21	10,487,289	499,395
Hungary	24	22	22	22	17	20	18	17	21	9,908,798	471,848
Sweden	19	18	20	20	17	18	17	17	20	9,555,893	477,795
Austria	18	17	19	19	16	17	16	16	18	8,451,860	469,548
Bulgaria	18	17	18	18	15	16	14	14	17	7,284,552	428,503
Denmark	14	13	13	13	12	12	12	12	13	5,602,628	430,971
Finland	14	13	13	13	12	12	12	12	13	5,426,674	417,436
Slovakia	14	13	13	13	12	12	12	12	13	5,410,836	416,218
Ireland	13	12	12	12	11	11	11	11	11	4,591,087	417,372
Croatia	—	—	—	12	11	11	11	11	11	4,262,140	387,467
Lithuania	13	12	12	12	9	10	9	9	11	2,971,905	270,173
Slovenia	7	7	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	2,058,821	257,353
Latvia	9	8	9	9	8	8	8	8	8	2,023,825	252,978
Estonia	6	6	6	6	7	7	7	7	6	1,324,814	220,802
Cyprus	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	865,878	144,313
Luxembourg	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	537,039	89,507
Malta	5	5	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	421,364	70,227
total	785	736	754	766	776	751	751	751	751	505,701,172	673,370

The EU needed to revise the apportionment of seats in time for the next European Parliament election, expected to be held in May 2019, when the United Kingdom's 73 MEPs may have vacated their seats following Brexit. In April 2017, a group of European lawmakers discussed what should be done about the vacated seats. One plan, supported by Enrico Letta, Gianni Pittella and Emmanuel Macron, was to replace the 73 seats with a pan-European constituency list. Other options which were considered include dropping the British seats without replacement and reassigning some or all of the existing seats from other countries to reduce inequality of representation.[28] A plan to reduce the number of seats to 705 was approved by the Parliament in February 2018. It involves redistributing 27 seats to under-represented members and reserving the remaining 46 for future EU expansions. A proposal by the Constitutional Affairs Committee to create a pan-member constituency was rejected by the Parliament at the same time.[29] The proposed redistribution did not occur due to the Brexit extension until 31 October, and the allocation used was the same as in 2014. When Brexit does take legal effect, the seat distribution will be that decided by the European Council. Those countries which were allocated additional seats elected MEPs who will take office only after Brexit has taken effect.

Apportionment in the European Parliament

Country	2007	2009	Dec. 2011[30]	July 2013	2014	Proposals for 2019 after the removal of UK seats[28][31]				Population
						Cambridge Compromise		Decision (Feb 2018)	Change from 2014	2017[32]	Thousands per MEP
						Minimizing Gini[33]	Minimizing malapportionment
Germany	99	99	99	99	96	96	96	96		82,521,653	860
France	78	72	74	74	74	79	96	79	+5	66,989,083	848
United Kingdom	78	72	73	73	73	–	–	–	-73	–	–
Italy	78	72	73	73	73	73	89	76	+3	60,589,445	797
Spain	54	50	54	54	54	57	70	59	+5	46,528,024	789
Poland	54	50	51	51	51	47	58	52	+1	37,972,964	730
Romania	35	33	33	33	32	27	33	33	+1	19,644,350	595
Netherlands	27	25	26	26	26	24	29	29	+3	17,081,507	589
Belgium	24	22	22	22	21	18	21	21		11,351,727	541
Greece	24	22	22	22	21	17	20	21		10,768,193	513
Czech Republic	24	22	22	22	21	17	20	21		10,578,820	504
Hungary	24	22	22	22	21	16	19	21		9,797,561	467
Portugal	24	22	22	22	21	17	20	21		10,309,573	491
Sweden	19	18	20	20	20	16	19	21	+1	9,995,153	476
Austria	18	17	19	19	18	15	18	19	+1	8,772,865	462
Bulgaria	18	17	18	18	17	13	15	17		7,101,859	418
Denmark	14	13	13	13	13	12	13	14	+1	5,748,769	411
Finland	14	13	13	13	13	12	13	14	+1	5,503,297	393
Slovakia	14	13	13	13	13	12	13	14	+1	5,435,343	388
Ireland	13	12	12	12	11	11	12	13	+2	4,784,383	368
Croatia	–	–	–	12	11	10	11	12	+1	4,154,213	346
Lithuania	13	12	12	12	11	9	9	11		2,847,904	259
Latvia	9	8	9	9	8	8	8	8		1,950,116	244
Slovenia	7	7	8	8	8	8	8	8		2,065,895	258
Estonia	6	6	6	6	6	7	7	7	+1	1,315,635	188
Cyprus	6	6	6	6	6	6	7	6		854,802	142
Luxembourg	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6		590,667	98
Malta	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6		460,297	77
Total	785	736	754	766	751	639	736	705	–46	445,714,098[34]	632

• United States Congressional apportionment