Brussels - The European Parliament gave its final approval
Thursday to plans to cut itself down to size, reducing the number of
its members (MEPs) from 785 to 750 ahead of elections in 2009.
The decision puts a close to years of sometimes heated debate over
the makeup of the increasingly influential assembly, with Italy,
Britain and France worst hit by the cuts, but it leaves the door open
for further rows if other countries join the 27-member bloc.
The deal should be 'rejected with scorn,' Italian nationalist Luca
Romagnoli said, adding 'Why should Malta and Estonia have the same
number of MEPs when Estonia's population is three times bigger?'
'I have accepted that the UK should have one fewer than France
(for population reasons); why should not Italy accept that they will
have fewer seats than France for the same reason?' left-wing British
MEP Richard Corbett retorted.
The enlargement of the EU from 15 to 27 members in the last three
years has provoked a debate on the size of its parliament, which at
over 700 members is already one of the largest in the world.
In June, EU leaders proposed that the number of MEPs should be
capped at 750 for the 2009-14 period, and tasked MEPs with working
out how to cut their own numbers down by 35.
After intensive wrangling, experts last week proposed wide-ranging
cuts, with Italy set to lose six of its seats, the UK to lose five,
France to lose four and Germany and Poland to lose three.
And despite heated debates, the parliament voted to back the
proposals by a solid majority of 378 to 154, with 109 abstentions.
But the agreement, which still has to be approved by EU
governments, leaves serious questions over the fate of the parliament
after the elections scheduled for 2014.
Under the agreement, the number of seats contested across the EU
at election time should never top 750. Countries joining the EU in
between elections would be allocated a temporary number of MEPs, but
other member states would be expected to agree to further cuts so
that the magic number of 750 would be kept at the next election.
While that provision is unlikely to provoke controversy in the
short term, with Croatia (probable number of MEPs: 12) the state most
likely to join the Union before 2014, it could cause a huge problem
if Turkey joins some time after 2015.
Turkey's population is already larger than that of any EU state
except Germany, meaning that it should receive close to the maximum
number (96) of MEPs.
Other member states would therefore have to shed over 10 per cent
of their MEPs to keep the total below 750 - a process which is
unlikely to pass without further intense debate.
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur 
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