EU assembly to slim down without Lisbon treaty

With the ratification of the Lisbon treaty set at the very least to be delayed if not yet abandoned, the European Parliament is likely to be elected according to the existing EU rules, a development despised by most MEPs, as it means the union's only directly elected institution will have fewer powers and members than originally projected.

The Lisbon treaty, agreed by the bloc's leaders in December 2007 - but put on ice after its rejection by Irish voters this June - would mean a major ...