Darbas:

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Recruit1 – naujokas, naujas narys
Particular2 – tam tikras, būtent tas, konkretus
Legislation3 – įstatymų leidimas, įstatymai
Treaty4 – sutartis susitarimas
Determine5 - (nu)lemti, sąlygoti, lemti; determinuoti
Amendment6 - (pa)taisymas; gerinimas
Unanimously7- vieningai, vienbalsiškai
Assent1
The assent procedure means that the Council has to obtain the European Parliament's assent before certain very important decisions are taken.

The procedure is the same as in the case of consultation, except that Parliament cannot amend a proposal: it must either accept or reject it. Acceptance (‘assent’) requires an absolute majority of the vote cast.

Codecision

This is the procedure now used for most EU law-making. In the codecision procedure, Parliament does not merely2 give its opinion: it shares legislative3 power equally with the Council. If Council and Parliament cannot agree on a piece of proposed legislation, it is put before a conciliation4 committee, composed of equal numbers of Council and Parliament representatives. Once this committee has reached an agreement, the text is sent once again to Parliament and the Council so that they can finally adopt it as law.

Modernising the system
The EU’s decision-making system has evolved5 over half a century. But it was originally designed for a community of just six nations. The EU now has 25 member states, and its membership will increase further in the years ahead. Its decision-making system therefore needs simplifying and streamlining6. To avoid paralysis, most decisions will have to be taken by ‘qualified majority voting’ rather than requiring every single country to agree.
The proposed Constitution agreed by the European Council in 2004 tackles7 these questions head on. It spells out much more clearly than in previous treaties what the European Union is and where it is going. It also lays down the new rules for more streamlined decision-making. It is due to come into force in 2006, but first it has to be approved by all 25 member countries – in some cases by referendum.
The Constitution is designed to make the EU more open and democratic. For example, it obliges8 EU ministers to hold their law-making discussions in public, and it gives citizens the right to draw up a petition asking the European Commission to propose new laws. Moreover, it gives national parliaments a greater role in monitoring Commission proposals.

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Assent1 - pritarimas, sutarimas, sutikimas
Merely2 - paprasčiausiai, tiktai
Legislative3 - įstatymų leidžiamasis/leidimo; įstatyminis
Conciliation4 - su(si)taikymas, sutaikinimas
Evolve5 - plėtotis, vystytis, išsivystyti, evoliucionuoti
Streamline6 - kryptis; tėkmės kryptis; srovės linija
Tackle7 - reikmenys, rykai; įrengimai;
Oblige8 - įpareigoti; priversti
It also aims1 to make the European Union a more effective force on the world stage by creating the post of EU Foreign Affairs Minister and putting that person in charge of all aspects of the Union’s external relations.
The new Constitution maintains the existing balance between national interests and the general European interest, and between the interests of small and big countries.
The European Parliament (EP) is elected by the citizens of the European Union to represent their interests. Its origins go back to the 1950s and the founding treaties, and since 1979 its members have been directly elected by the people they represent.
Elections are held every five years, and every EU citizen who is registered as a voter is entitled to vote. Parliament thus expresses the democratic will of the Union's citizens (more than 455 million people), and it represents their interests in discussions with the other EU institutions. The present parliament, elected in June 2004, has 732 members from all 25 EU countries. Nearly one third of them (222) are women.
Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) do not sit in national blocks, but in seven Europe-wide political groups. Between them, they represent all views on European integration, from the strongly pro-federalist to the openly Eurosceptic.
In 2004, Josep Borrell Fontelles was elected President of the European Parliament.
TABLE: Number of seats per political group, as at 2 June 2005
Political group Abbreviation2 No. of seats
European People's Party (Christian Democrats) and European Democrats EPP-ED 268
Socialist Group PES 201
Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe ALDE 88
Greens/European Free Alliance Greens/EFA 42
European United Left - Nordic Green Left GUE/NGL 41
Independence/Democracy IND/DEM 36
Union for Europe of the Nations UEN 27
Non-attached NI 29
TOTAL 732
United Kingdom 78
TOTAL 732
The European Parliament has three places of work: Brussels (Belgium), Luxembourg and Strasbourg (France).
Luxembourg is home to the administrative offices (the ‘General Secretariat’). Meetings of the whole Parliament, known as ‘plenary sessions’, take place in Strasbourg and sometimes in Brussels. Committee meetings are also held in Brussels.
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Aim1 – tikslas, taikinys
Abbreviation2 – sutrumpinimas, santrumpa


What does Parliament do?
Parliament has three main roles:
1. Passing European laws – jointly with the Council in many policy areas. The fact