The European Parliament currently consists of seven political groups. 736 parliamentarians from 27 member states of the European Union represent roughly 500 million citizens. The European Parliament is the only directly elected body in the European Union, and thus the voice of the citizens of the European Union.

In contrast to national parliaments, such as the German Bundestag, there is no ruling group and no opposition. Therefore the individual members have more flexibility and are able to better represent the interests of the European citizens vis-à-vis the Council of the European Union and the European Commission, with limited constraints of the groups. The Parliament shares the legislative power with the Council of the European Union, which consists of the ministers of the member states for the respective policy department. Besides the Council of the European Union (Council of Ministers), there is also the European Council (EU-Summit), which is the meeting of the European heads of government.

The Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D) is the association of the European Socialists and Social Democrats in the European Parliament and currently lists 185 members. The 23 German Social Democrats are the strongest national delegation followed by the Spanish and Italian comrades.

Each member of the European Parliament is usually a full member of one of the 20 Committees and substitute of another, as well as full member and substitute of an inter-parliamentary delegation.

The content based discussions among Members of the European Parliament and the preparation of reports to be voted for in the plenary, take place in the Committees. Controversial legislative procedures can take a long time, as a compromise with the Council of the European Union (Council of Ministers) has to be agreed upon.

The inter-parliamentary delegations serve the purpose of establishing contacts and bonds across parliamentarians of all different nationalities, as well as promoting the values on which the European Union is founded, namely the principles of liberty, democracy, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms and the rule of law.