Redistribution of seats in the European Parliament after Brexit
As of 1 February, the number and distribution of seats in the Parliament changes following the UK’s withdrawal from the EU.
From 1 February, the European Parliament will have 705 seats, compared with 751 (the maximum allowed under the EU treaties) before the UK’s withdrawal from the EU on 31 January 2020.
Of the UK’s 73 seats, 27 have been redistributed to other countries, while the remaining 46 will be kept in reserve for potential future enlargements.
Who are the new MEPs?
All new MEPs were elected at the May 2019 European Elections. Depending on national rules, some names have already been confirmed, while others are still pending. You can find all current MEPs on the European Parliament’s dedicated webpage.
Distribution of seats: no losers
The redistribution of seats ensures that no EU country loses any seats, while some gain from one to five seats to address under-representation following demographic changes.
The new distribution takes into account the size of the population of member states as well as the need for a minimum level of representation for European citizens in the smaller ones.
This principle of “degressive proportionality” means that smaller countries have fewer MEPs than bigger countries, but also that MEPs from a larger country represent more people than their counterparts from smaller countries.
Next steps
Parliament will continue to influence the EU-UK negotiations on the future relationship, while Brexit will also affect the composition of committees and interparliamentary delegations. To find out more, you can read our background note.
