Editing European Parliament (section)

===President and organisation===
[[File:Roberta Metsola elected new President of the European Parliament (51828380418) (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright|[[Roberta Metsola]], the current [[President of the European Parliament]]]]
{{Main|President of the European Parliament}}

The President is essentially the [[Speaker (politics)|speaker]] of the Parliament and presides over the plenary when it is in session. The President's signature is required for all acts adopted by co-decision, including the EU budget. The President is also responsible for representing the Parliament externally, including in legal matters, and for the application of the rules of procedure. The President is elected for two-and-a-half-year terms, meaning two elections per parliamentary term.<ref>{{cite web|title=Duties of the President|publisher=European Parliament|url=http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//TEXT+RULES-EP+20040720+RULE-019+DOC+XML+V0//EN&navigationBar=YES|access-date=12 June 2007 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Functions|publisher=European Parliament|url=http://www.europarl.europa.eu/the-president/en/president/functions.html|access-date=20 September 2012}}</ref> The current President of the European Parliament is [[Roberta Metsola]], who was elected in January 2022.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2022-01-18|title=Roberta Metsola elected new President of the European Parliament |publisher=European Parliament|url=https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20220114IPR21012/roberta-metsola-elected-new-president-of-the-european-parliament|access-date=2022-01-18 |language=en}}</ref>

In most countries, the protocol of the [[head of state]] comes before all others; however, in the EU the Parliament is listed as the first institution, and hence the protocol ranking of its president comes before any other European, or national, protocol. The gifts given to numerous visiting dignitaries depend upon the President. President [[Josep Borrell]] MEP of Spain gave his counterparts a crystal cup created by an artist from Barcelona who had engraved upon it parts of the [[Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union|Charter of Fundamental Rights]] among other things.<ref name="Protocol">{{cite web|title=Parliament's Protocol Service |date=28 July 2006|url=http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?language=EN&type=IM-PRESS&reference=20060728FCS09980&secondRef=0|publisher=European Parliament|access-date=28 October 2007 }}</ref>

A number of notable figures have been President of the Parliament and its predecessors. The first President was [[Paul-Henri Spaak]] MEP,<ref>though the history of Parliament sometimes excludes the early Common Assembly, in which interpretation the first President would be [[Robert Schuman]] (another founding father) in those circumstances.</ref> one of the [[Founding fathers of the European Union|founding fathers of the Union]]. Other founding fathers include [[Alcide de Gasperi]] MEP and [[Robert Schuman]] MEP. The three female Presidents were [[Simone Veil]] MEP in 1979 (first President of the elected Parliament), [[Nicole Fontaine]] MEP in 1999, both Frenchwomen, and [[Roberta Metsola]] from Malta in 2022.<ref>{{cite web|title=Former E.P. Presidents|publisher=European Parliament|url=http://www.europarl.europa.eu/the-president/en/president/formers.html|access-date=20 September 2012|archive-date=22 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160422224508/http://www.europarl.europa.eu/the-president/en/president/formers.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> The previous president, [[Jerzy Buzek]] was the first [[East-Central Europe]]an to lead an EU institution, a former [[Prime Minister of Poland]] who rose out of the [[Solidarity (Polish trade union)|Solidarity]] movement in Poland that helped overthrow communism in the [[Eastern Bloc]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Jerzy Buzek elected new President of the European Parliament|publisher=European Parliament|date=14 July 2009|url=http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/public/story_page/008-58049-201-07-30-901-20090710STO58039-2009-20-07-2009/default_en.htm|access-date=14 July 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090723091956/http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/public/story_page/008-58049-201-07-30-901-20090710STO58039-2009-20-07-2009/default_en.htm|archive-date=23 July 2009|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

During the election of a President, the previous President (or, if unable to, one of the previous vice-presidents) presides over the chamber.<ref name="LeP">{{cite news|title=MEPs move to deny extremist Jean-Marie Le Pen platform
|work=The Guardian |location=London |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2009/mar/26/le-pen-eu-france|access-date=15 April 2009 |first=Ian |last=Traynor |date=26 March 2009}}</ref> Prior to 2009, the [[President of the European Parliament#Oldest member|oldest member]] fulfilled this role<ref>{{cite web|title=Rules of Procedure of the European Parliament. Rule 11: Oldest member|publisher=European Parliament|url=http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//TEXT+RULES-EP+20070101+RULE-011+DOC+XML+V0//EN&navigationBar=YES|access-date=12 June 2007 }}</ref> but the rule was changed to prevent far-right French MEP [[Jean-Marie Le Pen]] taking the chair.<ref name="LeP"/>

The Parliament also elects 14 [[Vice President of the European Parliament|Vice-Presidents]] who chair debates when the President is not in the chamber. There are a number of bodies responsible for the running of Parliament. The two main ones are the [[Bureau (European Parliament)|Bureau]], which is responsible for budgetary and administration issues and is composed of the President and the Vice-Presidents, and the [[Conference of Presidents]] which is the political governing body and is composed of the Presidents of the Parliament and the leaders of each of the Parliament's political groups. Looking after the financial and administrative interests of members are five [[Quaestor (European Parliament)|Quaestors]].

{{As of|2014}}, the European Parliament budget was EUR 1.756 billion.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.europarl.europa.eu/aboutparliament/en/00059f3ea3/The-budget-of-the-European-Parliament.html |title=The budget of the European Parliament |publisher=European Union |access-date=22 April 2011 |quote=The 2014 EP budget amounts to € 1,756 billion of which 35% is for staff expenses, mainly salaries for the 6000 officials working in the General Secretariat and in the Political Groups.. }}</ref> A 2008 report on the Parliament's finances highlighted certain overspending and miss-payments. Despite some MEPs calling for the report to be published, Parliamentary authorities had refused until an MEP broke confidentiality and leaked it.<ref>{{cite news|title=MEP makes fraud report public
|publisher=BBC News |location=UK |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7280032.stm|access-date=28 October 2011 |date=5 March 2008}}</ref>