The committees for the new parliamentary term are constituted in July.

The 4th July was the internal deadline for the formation of political groups in the European Parliament. This is not a hard deadline; new formations and changes are possible at any time. However, important posts such as the 14 Vice-Presidents and Presidents of the European Parliament as well as the committee chairs will be distributed based on the size that the political groups have communicated by this date. A committee chair brings power with it – the chairs set the agenda and play a leading role in the trialogues, i.e. the negotiations with the other European institutions as part of the legislative process.

Allocation of committee chairs

Following a provisional agreement, the parliamentary groups distributed the most important offices between them on 9th July, one week before the constituent meeting of the new parliament. With regard to the chairs of the committees, the EPP was allocated a total of seven (full and sub-) committees under the D'Hondt procedure and the S&D five. The liberal Renew group and the right-wing conservative ECR drew three committees; the Greens, the Left and the new far-right group "Patriots for Europe" drew two each. However, it can be assumed that the chairmanships of the latter will be distributed among other groups due to the maintenance of the so-called "cordon sanitaire".

Role of the Conference of Presidents

At its meeting on 11th July, the Conference of Presidents – the President of Parliament and the leaders of the political groups – sets the agenda for the constituent sitting of Parliament from 16th to 19th July and formally adopts the allocation of seats in the new Parliament. It also presents a proposal for the committees and their numerical composition in the coming 10th parliamentary term. The plenary will vote on this proposal on 17th July, marking the start of the new legislative period. On 18th July, the parliamentary groups nominate the members of the committees and on 19th July, the plenary votes on the names of the members.

Constitution of the committees

The committees are formed in the week following the plenary session. A committee is deemed to be constituted when the members have elected the chair and the first vice chair. Three further vice chairs can also be elected at a later date. The positions are usually allocated among the various groups. In terms of committee chairs, the aim of the parliamentary administration is for a woman to be either chair or deputy chair of each committee. However, it is unclear whether this wish can be honoured.

First meeting of the coordinators

The coordinators, who are elected by the parliamentary groups for each committee, are due to meet for the first time on 24th July. They have an important role to play as they coordinate their group's position on dossiers dealt with in each committee, lead the political work of their respective group members and organise the committee's work together with the committee chairs. After the subsequent summer break, the committees will meet again from 2 September.