The European parliament takes pride in being the only EU institution whose members are elected directly by the European people.
That has been the case since 1979.
The parliament has used this political legitimacy to claim more and more legislative power over the years, sometimes irking member states that have to negotiate rules with parliamentarians.
Yet paradoxically, despite gaining influence, the parliament has at the same time been losing the interest and votes of EU ...
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Eszter Zalan is a Hungarian journalist who worked for Brussels-based news portal EUobserver specialising in European politics, focusing on populism and Brexit.