The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union, it adopts European legislation, following a proposal by the European Commission. The Parliament is composed of 720 members (MEPs), after the June 2024 European elections, from a previous 705 MEPs. It represents the second-largest democratic electorate in the world, with an electorate of around 375 million eligible voters in 2024.
The Party of European Socialists (PES) is a social democratic European political party.
Guy Maurice Marie Louise Verhofstadt is a Belgian liberal and European federalist politician. He is a former prime minister of Belgium. He was a member of the European Parliament (MEP) from Belgium from 2009 until 2024.
The New Flemish Alliance is a Flemish nationalist, conservative political party in Belgium. The party was established in 2001 by the right-leaning faction of the centrist-nationalist People's Union (VU).
Same-sex marriage has been legal in Belgium since 1 June 2003. A bill for the legalization of same-sex marriages was passed by the Senate on 28 November 2002, and by the Chamber of Representatives on 30 January 2003. King Albert II granted his assent, and the bill entered into force on 1 June. Polling indicates that a significant majority of Belgians support the legal recognition of same-sex marriage. Belgium was the second country in the world to legalise same-sex marriage, after the Netherlands.
The European Green Party (EGP), also referred to as European Greens, is a transnational, European political party representing national parties from across Europe who share Green values.
The Workers' Party of Belgium is a Marxist and socialist political party in Belgium. It is the only Belgian party represented in parliament that is a fully national party, representing both Flanders and Wallonia. Having historically been a small party, the PTB-PVDA has gained momentum since the 2010s, continuously scoring better at the elections, particularly in Wallonia and working-class communities in Brussels. It has 5 MEPs that sit in The Left group alongside other socialist parties.
António Luís Santos da Costa is a Portuguese lawyer and politician who has served as President of the European Council since 2024.
Vlaams Belang is a Flemish nationalist, Eurosceptic and right-wing populist political party in the Flemish Region and Brussels Capital Region of Belgium. It is widely considered by the media and political analysts to be on the political far-right, although it self-describes as right-nationalist and has tried to distance itself from the far-right label in recent years.
Elections in Belgium are organised for legislative bodies only, and not for executive functions. Direct elections take place for the European Parliament, the Chamber of Representatives, the Parliaments of the Regions, the Parliaments of the Communities, the provincial councils, the municipal councils and the councils of Districts of Antwerp. Voting is mandatory in federal elections, and all elections use proportional representation which in general requires coalition governments.
Sophia Helena "Sophie" in 't Veld is a Dutch politician. She was elected as a Member of the European Parliament in 2004, and reelected in 2009, 2014 and 2019. She was D66's top candidate for the three elections and was its leader in the European Parliament since her first election.
The European Conservatives and Reformists Group is a soft Eurosceptic, anti-federalist political group of the European Parliament. The ECR is the parliamentary group of the European Conservatives and Reformists Party European political party, but also includes MEPs from other European parties and MEPs without European party affiliation.
Pirate Party is a label adopted by various political parties worldwide that share a set of values and policies focused on civil rights in the digital age. The fundamental principles of Pirate Parties include freedom of information, freedom of the press, freedom of expression, digital rights and internet freedom. The first Pirate Party was founded in Sweden in 2006 by Rick Falkvinge initially named "Piratpartiet", and the movement has since expanded to over 60 countries.
Patriots.eu, formerly known as the Identity and Democracy Party and the Movement for a Europe of Nations and Freedom (MENF), is a nationalist, right-wing populist and Eurosceptic European political party founded in 2014. Its Members of the European Parliament sat in the Europe of Nations and Freedom group from 2015 to 2019, then in the Identity and Democracy group between 2019 and 2024; following the 2024 European Parliament election, most of its MEPs sit within the Patriots for Europe group.
Federal elections were held in Belgium on 26 May 2019, alongside the country's European and regional elections. All 150 members of the Chamber of Representatives were elected from eleven multi-member constituencies.
Volt Europa is a transnational pro-European and federalist European political movement. It operates as a pan-European umbrella for subsidiary parties sharing the same name and branding.
Renew Europe is a liberal, centrist to centre-right, pro-European political group of the European Parliament founded for the ninth European Parliament term. The group is the successor to the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) group which existed during the sixth, seventh and eighth terms from 2004 to 2019, and under a variety of other names in earlier Parliaments. Renew Europe in the European Committee of the Regions is the sister group of Renew Europe.
The 2024 European Parliament election was held in the European Union (EU) between 6 and 9 June 2024. It was the tenth parliamentary election since the first direct elections in 1979, and the first European Parliament election after Brexit. A total of 720 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) were elected to represent more than 450 million people from 27 member states. This election also coincided with a number of other elections in some European Union member states.
Federal elections were held in Belgium on 9 June 2024. The Chamber of Representatives received 150 members with five-year terms. European and regional elections took place on the same day.
