Editing European Parliament (section)

===Political groups===
{{Main|Political groups of the European Parliament}}

MEPs in Parliament are organised into eight different [[parliamentary group]]s; members who do not join a group are known as ''non-attached members'' or ''[[non-inscrits]]''.

The two largest groups are the [[European People's Party Group]] (EPP) and the [[Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats|Socialists & Democrats]] (S&D). These two groups have dominated the Parliament for much of its existence, jointly holding between 50 and 70 percent of the seats until 2019. No single group has ever held an absolute majority in Parliament.<ref name=autogenerated1>{{cite web|last=Kreppel |first=Amie |title=The European Parliament and Supranational Party System |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |year=2002 |url=https://assets.cambridge.org/97805218/06251/sample/9780521806251ws.pdf |access-date=12 June 2007 }}</ref>

As a result of being broad alliances of national parties, political groups in the European Parliament are decentralised and have more in common with parties in federal states like Germany or the United States than with unitary states, like the majority of the EU member states.<ref name="Kreppel"/> Nevertheless, the political groups were actually more cohesive than their US counterparts between 2004 and 2009.<ref>{{cite web|title="What to expect in the 2009–14 European Parliament": Analysis from a leading EU expert|publisher=European Parliament website|year=2009|url=http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/public/story_page/008-60547-292-10-43-901-20090911STO60546-2009-19-10-2009/default_en.htm|access-date=17 February 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100210105843/http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/public/story_page/008-60547-292-10-43-901-20090911STO60546-2009-19-10-2009/default_en.htm|archive-date=10 February 2010|df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Cohesion rates|publisher=Vote Watch|year=2010|url=http://www.votewatch.eu/cx_european_party_groups.php|access-date=17 February 2010 }}</ref>

Half of the groups are based on a single [[European political party]], such as the [[European People's Party]], with the addition of MEPs from national parties not members of a European party and independent MEPs. The others, such as the [[Greens–European Free Alliance]] group or the [[European Conservatives and Reformists Group]], center on two European parties, as well as other national parties and independents.<ref>{{cite web|title=Party Politics in the EU |publisher=civitas.org.uk |url=http://www.civitas.org.uk/eufacts/download/CIT.3.EU%20Political%20Parties.pdf |access-date=12 June 2007 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071019072737/http://www.civitas.org.uk/eufacts/download/CIT.3.EU%20Political%20Parties.pdf |archive-date=19 October 2007 }}</ref>

Groups need 23 MEPs from seven different member states to register. Following registration, groups receive public funding from the budget of the European Parliament.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/faq/1/what-are-political-groups-and-how-are-they-formed|title=What are political groups and how are they formed?|publisher=European Parliament|access-date=20 August 2021}}</ref>