EU History Explained – A history of the European Parliament

In this new episode of EU History Explained, Giulia Bonacquisti, Programme Manager at the Trans European Policy Studies Association (TEPSA), takes a look at the history of the European Parliament, an institution at the heart of pan-European democracy. We'll learn about the world’s first experiment in transnational democracy, whose members are unique among international parliamentary assemblies insofar as they are directly elected by the citizens they represent. We'll also learn about how the Parliament's powers have expanded over the course of the European project from the 1950s to today. This video takes us from the creation of the European Coal and Steel Community in 1951, a key step in the post-war Schuman Plan to secure lasting peace in Europe by pooling the French and German coal and steel industries, and the High Authority which managed this arrangement, through the decision to create a Common Assembly of appointed members to hold the supranational High Authority accountable, and beyond. From this origin, we trace the history of the Common Assembly under various guises - from European Parliamentary Assembly to today's directly elected European Parliament, noting the key moments where its powers and representativeness have evolved over the years. EU History Explained is TEPSA’s video series exploring the origins of the modern EU. If you have ever wondered how the European Union of today came to be, or what lies behind the talk of politics being shaped in ‘Brussels’, then this is the series for you! We would like to warmly thank the following institutions for their support in the production of this video: Historical Archives of the European Union, European Parliament Partnerships Team. Script: Giulia Bonacquisti Recording & Editing: Barbara Vanotti & Hugh Evans Music: Garrett Bevins - Infinite - Infinite (Wondershare Filmora X)

You can listen to EU History Explained – A history of the European Parliament online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

EU History Explained – A history of the European Parliament is an episode from Europe Speaks: A TEPSA Podcast by The Trans European Policy Studies Association.

This episode is 10:54 long.

This episode was published on May 19, 2025.

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