The Parliament was made in 1952 and was then called the "Common Assembly". At this time, it did not have any power, it was only asked to comment on laws made by the "European Coal and Steel Community". In 1957, it was renamed the "European Parliamentary Assembly" and got to comment on the laws of the "European Economic Community" and the "European Atomic Energy Community". Over the following years, it was given a few powers over laws and money and it called itself the "European Parliament" in the 1960s. It wanted to be elected so it could do more, as if people voted for the people in Parliament, the Council and Commission would have to pay more attention to it (this is known as "Democratic Legitimacy", the idea that your voice is worth more if you have lots of people supporting from an election).