Nice System
The last 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 state 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 joined in 2007, when the number of seats temporarily increased to 785. It subsequently returned to 736 in the 2009 election.
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.
- Relative influence of voters from different EU member states (2003)
| Member state |
Population millions |
MEPs |
Inhabitants per MEP |
Influence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Austria | 8.27 | 17 | 486,235 | 1.71 |
| Belgium | 10.51 | 22 | 477,773 | 1.74 |
| Bulgaria | 7.72 | 17 | 454,059 | 1.83 |
| Cyprus | 0.77 | 6 | 127,667 | 6.52 |
| Czech Republic | 10.25 | 22 | 465,955 | 1.79 |
| Denmark | 5.43 | 13 | 417,538 | 1.99 |
| Estonia | 1.34 | 6 | 224,000 | 3.72 |
| Finland | 5.26 | 13 | 404,308 | 2.06 |
| France | 62.89 | 72 | 873,417 | 0.95 |
| Germany | 82.43 | 99 | 832,606 | 1 |
| Greece | 11.13 | 22 | 505,682 | 1.65 |
| Hungary | 10.08 | 22 | 458,045 | 1.82 |
| Ireland | 4.21 | 12 | 350,750 | 2.37 |
| Italy | 58.75 | 72 | 816,000 | 1.02 |
| Latvia | 2.3 | 8 | 286,875 | 2.9 |
| Lithuania | 3.4 | 12 | 283,583 | 2.94 |
| Luxembourg | 0.46 | 6 | 76,667 | 10.86 |
| Malta | 0.4 | 5 | 80,800 | 10.3 |
| Netherlands | 16.33 | 25 | 653,360 | 1.27 |
| Poland | 38.16 | 50 | 763,140 | 1.09 |
| Portugal | 10.57 | 22 | 480,455 | 1.73 |
| Romania | 21.61 | 33 | 654,848 | 1.27 |
| Slovakia | 5.39 | 13 | 414,538 | 2.01 |
| Slovenia | 2 | 7 | 286,143 | 2.91 |
| Spain | 43.76 | 50 | 875,160 | 0.95 |
| Sweden | 9.05 | 18 | 502,667 | 1.66 |
| United Kingdom | 60.42 | 72 | 839,194 | 0.99 |
Read more about this topic: Apportionment In The European Parliament
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—Paddy Chayefsky (1923–1981)
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—George Canning (1770–1827)