EPRC Seminar: The role of the European Parliament and its research units

On 9 May, EPRC hosted a seminar by Dr Esther Kramer from the European Parliament's Directorate General for Internal Policies. After an introduction into the history and working methods of the EP, Esther explained the role of its policy research units, first established in 2004, which provide research services to assist the Parliament's law-making process. Policy Department B, for instance, is divided into five sectors, each covering a different policy area linked to a Parliament committee: AGRI (agriculture), CULT (culture), PECH (fisheries), TRAN (transport) and REGI, where Esther is coordinating research activities on Cohesion policy. The presentation also provided insights into some of the political, procedural and organisational dynamics and challenges faced by the Policy Departments, such as the necessity of translating some of their output into 22 European languages. The presentation slides of the seminar are available http://www.eprc.strath.ac.uk/news/Esther_Kramer_9 May 12.pdf