European Parliament constituency European Parliament constituency Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) are elected by the population of the member states of the European Union (EU), divided into constituencies. Belgium, France, Ireland, Italy, Poland and the United Kingdom are respectively divided into 3, 8, 3, 5, 13 and 12 constituencies, while the other member states have a single national constituency. In Germany, political parties are entitled to present lists of candidates either at Länder or national level. The Kingdom of Denmark was also historically subdivided in two constituencies, with a separate one for Greenland which was dissolved in 1985 after the autonomous country
Political groups of the European Parliament are strictly forbidden to campaign during the European elections since this is the exclusive responsibility of the Europarties. Each political group is assumed to have a set of core principles, and political groups that cannot demonstrate this may be disbanded (see below). Working together in Groups benefits European political parties: for example, the European Free Alliance (5 MEPs in sixth Parliament) and the European Green Party (37 MEPs in sixth Parliament) have more power by working together in the European Greens–European Free Alliance Group (42 MEPs) than they would have as stand-alone parties, bringing their causes much-needed additional support. Further