Darbas:

that the EP is directly elected by the citizens helps guarantee the democratic legitimacy1 of European law.
2. Parliament exercises democratic supervision2 over the other EU institutions, and in particular the Commission. It has the power to approve or reject the nomination of commissioners, and it has the right to censure the Commission as a whole.
3. The power of the purse. Parliament shares with the Council authority over the EU budget and can therefore influence EU spending. At the end of the procedure, it adopts or rejects the budget in its entirety.
These three roles are described in greater detail below.

1. Passing European laws
The most common procedure for adopting (i.e. passing) EU legislation is ‘codecision’. This procedure places the European Parliament and the Council on an equal footing and it applies to legislation in a wide range of fields.
In some fields (for example agriculture, economic policy, visas and immigration), the Council alone legislates, but it has to consult Parliament. In addition, Parliament’s assent is required for certain important decisions, such as allowing new countries to join the EU.
Parliament also provides impetus3 for new legislation by examining the Commission’s annual work programme, considering what new laws would be appropriate and asking the Commission to put forward proposals.
2. Democratic supervision
Parliament exercises democratic supervision over the other European institutions. It does so in several ways.
When a new Commission takes office, its members are nominated by the EU member state governments but they cannot be appointed without Parliament’s approval. Parliament interviews each of them individually, including the prospective Commission President, and then votes on whether to approve the Commission as a whole.
Throughout its term of office, the Commission remains politically accountable4 to Parliament, which can pass a ‘motion of censure’ calling for the Commission’s mass resignation.
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Legitimacy1 – teisėtumas, pagrįstumas;
Supervision2 - priežiūra, prižiūrėjimas, stebėjimas; vadovavimas;
Impetus3 - smarkumas, (judėjimo) jėga;
Accountable4 - atsakingas
More generally, Parliament exercises control by regularly examining reports sent to it by the Commission (the annual general report, reports on the implementation1 of the budget, etc.). Moreover, MEPs regularly ask the Commission questions which the commissioners are legally required to answer.
Parliament also monitors the work of the Council: MEPs regularly ask the Council questions, and the President of the Council attends the EP’s plenary sessions and takes part in important debates.
Parliament can exercise further democratic control by examining petitions from citizens and setting up committees of inquiry2.
Finally, Parliament provides input to every EU summit3 (the European Council meetings). At the opening of each summit, the President of Parliament is invited to express Parliament's views and concerns about topical issues and the items on the European Council's agenda.
3. The power of the purse
The EU’s annual budget is decided jointly by Parliament and the Council. Parliament debates it in two successive4 readings, and the budget does not come into force until it has been signed by the President of Parliament.
Parliament's Committee on Budgetary Control (COCOBU) monitors how the budget is spent, and each year Parliament decides whether to approve the Commission’s handling of the budget for the previous financial year. This approval process is technically known as ‘granting a discharge5’.

How is the Parliament's work organised?
Parliament's work is divided into two main stages:
• Preparing for the plenary session. This is done by the MEPs in the various parliamentary committees that specialise in particular areas of EU activity. The issues for debate are also discussed by the political groups.
• The plenary session itself. Plenary sessions are normally held in Strasbourg (one week per month) and sometimes in Brussels (two days only). At these sessions, Parliament examines proposed legislation and votes on amendments before coming to a decision on the text as a whole.
Other items on the agenda may include Council or Commission ‘communications’ or questions about what is going on in the European Union or the wider world.
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Implementation1 - įgyvendinimas
Inquiry2 - teiravimasis, pasiteiravimas, (pa)klausimas; apklausa, apklausinėjimas
Summit3 – viršūnė, aukščiausias taškas
Successive4 - einantis vienas po kito, sekantis vienas paskui kitą (iš eilės); nuoseklus
Discharge5 – paleidimas, atleidimas, ėjimas, vykdymas
The Council is the EU's main decision-making body. Like the European Parliament, the Council was set up by the founding treaties in the 1950s. It represents the member states, and its meetings are attended by one minister from each of the EU’s national governments.
Which ministers attend which meeting depends on what subjects are on the agenda. If, for example, the Council is to discuss environmental1 issues, the meeting will be attended by the Environment Minister from each EU country and it will be known as the ‘Environment Council’.
The EU’s relations with the rest of the world are dealt with by