How many MEPs?
From 1 July 2019 to 31 January 2020, 751 MEPs served in the European Parliament, as laid down in the Lisbon Treaty.
However, the withdrawal of the UK as an EU member state reduced that figure to 705 MEPs as of 1 February 2020, allowing room for possible future enlargements of the European Union.
Of the 73 UK seats vacated, 27 were re-allocated to better reflect the principle of degressive proportionality. The 27 seats were distributed to France (+5), Spain (+5), Italy (+3), Netherlands (+3), Ireland (+2), Sweden (+1), Austria (+1), Denmark (+1), Finland (+1), Slovakia (+1), Croatia (+1), Estonia (+1), Poland (+1) and Romania (+1). No member state lost any seats.
The proposal ensures that seats are distributed in an "objective, fair, durable and transparent way". In line with the Treaty on European Union, the new distribution of seats respects the principle of "degressive proportionality", whereby larger member states have fewer seats than smaller ones in relation to their population; MEPs from larger member states represent more citizens than those from smaller ones.
705 MEPs ; at the European Parliament