Innsbruck, [Middle of September], 1977
The European Parliament
The first general elections to the European Parliament should take place in the fall of 1978. What kind of legislative power will this European Parliament be able to exercise? Will it have only an advisory function, or will it become a legislative body that can pass binding laws for the member states of the European Community (EC)?
As long as the EC is not coming together to a political union, being able to speak with one voice and to make binding decisions for all member states, the wish of becoming an equal partner of the United States will remain an illusion.
[The first general elections to the European Parliament in Strasbourg were held June 7-10, 1979. The original 410 seats were distributed among the nine EC countries according to the size of their populations. Each of the four large countries - France, the German Federal Republic, Great Britain, and Italy - were entitled to 81 seats. General elections to the European Parliament, which in the meantime has been enlarged to 518 seats, are held every five years.]