Chapter Updates

Chapter 5: The European Union and European Community law

Changes to the institutional structure of the EU

The accession of Romania and Bulgaria into the European Union (EU) on 1 January 2007 has meant that details relating to the EU’s institutional structure have changed slightly to accommodate the new members.

• There are now 27 members of the European Union.
• There are accordingly 27 Commissioners in the European Commission, with one from each Member State.
• The European Parliament has expanded from 732 MEPs to 785 directly elected MEPs, accommodating 35 Rumanian MEPs and 18 Bulgarian MEPs. After the next elections for the European Parliament, in 2009, the number of MEPs in the European Parliament will be reformed so that there is a reduced total of 736 MEPs elected from the 27 Member States.
• With regard to qualified majority voting in the Council of Ministers, there are now 345 votes in total and the minimum qualified majority will be 255.

Examiners will not expect you to get to grips with all the new information, but you should read pp90–95 of the book in conjunction with this update and appreciate that the enlargement of the EU necessitates changes to the institutional framework. The latest candidates for entry to the EU are Turkey, Croatia and Macedonia.