History

At the outset of European co-operation, Parliament had just the right to be consulted on proposals from the European Commission to the Council. However, this changed fundamentally when the Single Act was adopted in 1987 and Parliament was involved in the creation of the Single Market with free movement in the Member States of people, goods, services and capital.

In December 1990, the European Council of Rome, decided to revise the existing Treaties and set up a so-called Intergovernmental Conference, a conference between the then 12 governments of the European Community with the aim of changing the existing Treaties, to start negotiations about a political union and Economic and Monetary Union. The Intergovernmental Conference resulted in the Maastricht Treaty in which the introduction of the single currency, the Euro, was decided. The Maastricht Treaty, which came into force in 1993, extended the powers of the European Parliament substantially with the introduction of the so-called co-decision procedure . This legislative procedure, which extends to a number of European policies, places the European Parliament on an equal footing with the Council of Ministers. These national ministers had, until then, almost always had the last say with regard to deciding about laws in Europe. The 1997 Amsterdam Treaty increased the number of policy fields where the European Parliament could exert its powers. Currently it covers important areas like the establishment of the single market, investigation and research, the environment, consumer protection, education, culture and health.

The Treaty concluded in Nice and signed in 2001 prepared the Union for the accession of 10 new member States. In that Treaty the new number of seats in European Parliament after the European elections of 2004 is set and a new distribution of the votes in the Council of Ministers and criteria for the composition of the European Commission have been introduced.

Developing the EU is an ongoing process and in June 2003, the European Convention presented its final document about further reforming the European Union in the light of enlargement. It was the first time that the European Parliament fully participated in a process about shaping the future of the European Union. The outcome of the European Convention has been discussed in an Intergovernmental Conference under the Italian presidency. However, no agreement was reached. Under the Irish Presidency, in the first half of 2004, negotiations continue.