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How the European Parliament works

Everything on this site — the amendments, the procedures, the votes — comes from one process: a text arrives in Parliament, Members try to change it, and the full house decides. This page explains that process in plain language, so every number on the site has its context.

What is an amendment?

An amendment is a written proposal to change a specific part of a draft text — delete a sentence, add one, reword one. When a draft law reaches a parliamentary committee, its Members respond by tabling (formally submitting) amendments: each one is published in an official document with the names of its authors.

That paper trail is the heart of this site: it records, precisely and verifiably, who tried to change what in EU law. Most committee amendments are co-signed by several Members acting together; a solo amendment is tabled by one Member alone — often the rapporteur (see below).

Amendments tabled in plenary by political groups are a separate mechanism and are not counted here — see the methodology.

From proposal to law

European Commissionproposes a draft lawParliament committeerapporteur + amendmentscommittee votePlenaryall Members debate & voteLawpublished, applies in the EUnegotiated with the Council of the EU

Most EU laws start as a proposal from the European Commission. Parliament assigns it to one of its committees, which appoints a rapporteur — the Member who leads the work on that text. Committee members table amendments, negotiate compromises, and vote a committee position. The text then goes to the plenary, where all Members debate and vote. For most laws, Parliament decides together with the Council of the EU (the member states’ governments): the two sides usually meet in informal negotiations — the trilogues — and the deal they reach must be approved by both to become law.

Everything moving through this process is tracked as a procedure file with a reference like 2025/0045(COD). The letters say what kind of procedure it is:

  • COD — ordinary legislative procedure: Parliament and the Council decide together. This is how most EU laws are made.
  • INI — own-initiative report: Parliament states its position on a topic; not itself a law.
  • CNS — consultation: the Council decides; Parliament gives its opinion.
  • APP / NLE — consent and other non-legislative procedures: Parliament approves or rejects a text as a whole.
  • BUD / DEC — the EU budget, and the “discharge” sign-off on how it was spent.

Every procedure page on this site links to the official record in Parliament’s Legislative Observatory, where the full history of each file is kept.

How voting works

The plenary — all Members sitting together — meets about once a month, mostly in Strasbourg with shorter sessions in Brussels. Voting on a text happens in steps: first on the amendments to it (sometimes split into parts, so Members can accept one half of a sentence and reject the other), then on the text as a whole. The main vote is the one that adopts or rejects the text itself.

Most decisions pass by a simple majority of the votes cast. A few need more: for example, amending or rejecting the Council’s position at second reading requires an absolute majority of all Members. A Member can vote for, against, or abstain.

A roll-call vote is one where each Member’s choice is recorded by name — final votes on legislation always are, and any political group can request one on other points. Votes by show of hands leave no per-Member record, which is why this site (like every vote tracker) can only show roll-call votes.

See it on real data: any procedure with votes shows the full sequence — the latest plenary session is recapped here.

How to read a plenary session

A part-session gathers all Members for about a week: twelve times a year in Strasbourg, from Monday to Thursday, plus some additional shorter sittings in Brussels. Most of each day is debate; the decisions come in a concentrated voting time, usually held around midday. A session page on this site is the record of those votes, day by day, grouped by the text they concern. Three kinds of votes show up there:

Votes on a text: the final vote decides

On a legislative text or report, the plenary votes in steps: first on the amendments to it, then once on the text as a whole. Only that last vote adopts or rejects the text. Adopted amendments change what the text says, not whether it passes: a text can be adopted with every amendment rejected, or rejected after many amendments were adopted. That is why each card on a session page leads with the text-deciding vote and folds the amendment votes underneath it.

Motions and consents: no committee amendments

Not everything voted in plenary went through the committee amendment stage this site tracks. Motions for resolutions are tabled directly for the sitting, so Parliament can state a position on current events; the monthly debates on human-rights cases end this way, and the procedure reference of such texts usually ends in (RSP). In consentprocedures, Parliament can only approve or reject a text as a whole, without amending it. On a session page these sit under “Voted without committee amendments”; each title opens an AmendEU page that follows its plenary votes.

Procedural votes

Some roll-calls decide how the sitting runs, not what a law says: changing the agenda, postponing a vote, sending a text back to committee for more work. They are grouped at the end of each day under “Procedural votes”.

Why 200 amendments can appear as a handful of votes

Hundreds of amendments can be tabled on one text, yet a session page may show only a few votes on it. Four mechanics from Parliament’s own rules do the compressing:

  • Compromise amendments. Before the vote, the political groups often negotiate a compromise covering a whole passage; the individual amendments it replaces are withdrawn or fall. One vote can settle dozens of amendments.
  • Block votes. The amendments recommended by the committee responsible are normally put to a single collective vote, and other amendments that are similar or complementary can also be bundled into one vote.
  • Split votes.A political group, or enough Members acting together, can ask for an amendment or a paragraph to be voted in parts: that is what “part 1” and “part 2” mean on the vote rows.
  • Show of hands vs roll call. As a general rule the plenary votes by show of hands, which leaves no per-Member record. A roll-call vote, where every Member’s choice is recorded by name, is mandatory for the single or final vote on a report and otherwise happens when a political group or enough Members request it.

The result: on a text with 200 tabled amendments, most were folded into compromises or blocks, and many of the remaining votes were taken by show of hands. Only the roll-call votes leave a public record, and those are what AmendEU (like every vote tracker) can show.

Committee amendments vs plenary amendments

The amendments this site tracks in bulk are committee amendments: tabled by named, individual Members while the text is in committee, each published in an official document. Plenary amendments are a separate series tabled for the sitting itself, by the committee responsible, a political group, or a group of Members acting together. The two series are numbered independently, so “amendment 4” on a session page means plenary amendment 4, never the committee amendment with the same number.

The mechanics above follow Parliament’s Rules of Procedure, summarised in its official guide to how plenary works ↗.

Who's who

MEP — Member of the European Parliament, directly elected in one of the member states. There are 720 seats in the current term. Rapporteur — the Member a committee appoints to lead Parliament’s work on one text: they draft the report, negotiate the compromises, and usually table many solo amendments.

MEPs sit by political affinity, not nationality, in political groups (a group needs at least 23 Members from a quarter of the member states). The groups of the current term:

The detailed work happens in about twenty standing committees, each covering a policy field — the four-letter codes used across this site:

AFCO Constitutional Affairs · AFET Foreign Affairs · AGRI Agriculture and Rural Development · ANIT Inquiry — Protection of Animals during Transport · BUDG Budgets · CLIM Climate Change · CONT Budgetary Control · CULT Culture and Education · DEVE Development · DROI Human Rights (subcommittee) · ECON Economic and Monetary Affairs · EMIS Inquiry — Emission Measurements in the Automotive Sector · EMPL Employment and Social Affairs · ENVI Environment, Public Health and Food Safety · FEMM Women's Rights and Gender Equality · IMCO Internal Market and Consumer Protection · INTA International Trade · ITRE Industry, Research and Energy · JURI Legal Affairs · LIBE Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs · PECH Fisheries · PETI Petitions · REGI Regional Development · SANT Public Health · SEDE Security and Defence (subcommittee) · TAX2 Special committee — Tax Rulings · TAX3 Special committee — Financial Crimes, Tax Evasion and Tax Avoidance · TERR Special committee — Terrorism · TRAN Transport and Tourism

Parliament is elected for five years; each five-year period is a term. This site covers the 6th (2004–2009), 7th (2009–2014), 8th (2014–2019), 9th (2019–2024) and 10th (2024–now) terms.

What this site shows (and what it doesn't)

AmendEU counts the committee amendments attributed to individual Members since 2008, links every one to its official document, and adds the plenary roll-call votes on the same procedures. It does not cover votes by show of hands, plenary amendments tabled by groups, or anything after the stated coverage window — and it never estimates: every number is exact within its window.

About this project → · Methodology & sources →

The best way to understand the process is to watch it on a real law: open any procedure and read the amendments, then the votes.

Browse the procedures →