The European Parliament logo, representing the legislative body of the European Union, consists of an image of the semicircular parliamentary chamber, the EU flag and the institution’s name. Grey curved lines form flat graphic elements that, through their arrangement and varying sizes, create a sense of perspective and give depth to the semicircular chamber. In front of them is a blue rectangle with twelve yellow stars arranged in a circle. The name “European Parliament” is set in the institution’s Europea typeface. In the horizontal version, the wordmark appears to the right of the graphic symbol, while in the vertical version it is placed below it. The logo’s main colours are grey, blue and yellow. Single-colour blue and black versions are also available, along with variants designed for grey and black backgrounds. The logo reflects the Parliament’s core principles of openness and democracy. Its updated version was approved in January 2015, replacing the previous design, which was developed in the early 1990s and officially adopted in 2004. The update unified the visual identity and adapted the logo for digital communications. Versions featuring the institution’s name in all 24 official languages of the European Union are available.
The European Parliament is the representative legislative body of the European Union, whose members are elected by citizens of EU Member States. Its history began in 1952 with the Common Assembly of the European Coal and Steel Community, and the institution adopted its current name in 1962. Since 1979, elections to the European Parliament have been held by direct vote every five years. It has 720 members from the EU’s 27 Member States. Together with the Council of the European Union, Parliament adopts European legislation and approves the EU budget, scrutinises the activities of other institutions, including the European Commission, and elects the President of the Commission. The main plenary sessions are held in Strasbourg, France, parliamentary committees work primarily in Brussels, Belgium, and the General Secretariat is based in Luxembourg.
