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I think your post is also misleading. Under co-decision, the EP only gets to /propose/ amendments, not to approve them. The council are able to reject parliam

I think your post is also misleading. Under co-decision, the EP only gets to /propose/ amendments, not to approve them. The council are able to reject parliament amendments and get the law passed anyway. And of course, there are other procedures than co-decision for creating primary legislation which give the EP even less power. While the grandparent wasn't 100% technically correct I think the broad view (that "The EU Parliament has no real power") is effectively correct. The lion's share of the power of the EU still rests in the Commission and the Council. By all means, write to your MEPs, but don't get too hopeful

antientropic 9y ago
> The council are able to reject parliament amendments and get the law passed anyway. This is false. In most policy areas, if the council disagrees with the parliament's amendments, the proposal goes through a conciliation process. If the council and parliament don't reach agreement there, then the proposal is rejected. Thus, parliament has the power to reject almost all legislation. I wouldn't call that powerless. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Union_legislative_procedure#Ordinary_legislative_procedure https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Union_legislative_pro...
- calpaterson 9y ago
  Yes, there is further process I didn't mention. No, it doesn't fundamentally change the situation.