Member of the European Parliament

A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is the English name for a person who has been elected to the European Parliament, one of the European Union's two legislative bodies. MEPs are the European Union's equivalents of a country's national legislators in either the lower house or unicameral parliaments.

When the European Parliament was first established, MEPs were appointed by Member States from members of their own national parliament. Since 1979, however, MEPs have been elected by direct universal suffrage. Each country establishes their own way of electing their MEPs and in some countries the electoral system has changed over time and across regions. All now use one or another form of proportional representation.