Editing European Economic Community (section)

===Parliament===
[[File:Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F023908-0002, Straßburg, Tagung des Europarates.jpg|thumb|The [[European Parliament]] held its first elections in 1979, slowly gaining more influence over Community decision making.]]
Under the Community, the [[European Parliament]] (formerly the European Parliamentary Assembly) had an advisory role to the Council and Commission. There were a number of [[European Union legislative procedure|Community legislative procedures]], at first there was only the [[consultation procedure]], which meant Parliament had to be consulted, although it was often ignored.<ref>{{Cite web|date=29 May 2019|title=Europeans used to ignore their parliament. Not any longer {{!}} Caroline de Gruyter|url=http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/may/29/europeans-parliament-young-people-eu|access-date=31 August 2022|website=the Guardian|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Sebald|first=Christoph|date=31 August 2022|title=The European Parliament needs independence and a strong voice|url=https://www.thenewfederalist.eu/The-European-Parliament-needs-independence-and-a-strong-voice,05603|access-date=31 August 2022|website=The New Federalist|language=en}}</ref> The [[Single European Act]] gave Parliament more power, with the [[assent procedure]] giving it a right to veto proposals and the [[cooperation procedure]] giving it equal power with the Council if the council was not unanimous.

In 1970 and 1975, the [[Budgetary treaties of the European Communities|Budgetary treaties]] gave Parliament power over the [[Budget of the European Union|Community budget]]. The Parliament's members, up-until 1980 were national MPs serving part-time in the Parliament. The Treaties of Rome had required elections to be held once the council had decided on a voting system, but this did not happen and elections were delayed until 1979 (see [[1979 European Parliament election]]). After that, Parliament was elected every five years. In the following 20 years, it gradually won co-decision powers with the Council over the adoption of legislation, the right to approve or reject the appointment of the Commission President and the commission as a whole, and the right to approve or reject international agreements entered into by the Community.