Story Highlights
- Historical event
- 19 March 1958
- Members of the European Parliament initially sat sorted by nationality, but in less than two months they were seated according to their political ideologies (left-right), and that is how they sit to this day.
The European Parliament began its first session on this day in 1958, in Strasbourg. It then functioned as a supreme parliamentary assembly body for the three European communities: the European Economic Community (EEC), the European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM) and the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC).
The Parliament chose as its president the famous Robert Schuman, one of the most important people for the creation of European integration in general.
The President of the European Parliament, Robert Schuman, was of mixed origin – he was born in Luxembourg, to a French father and a mother with German citizenship. From an early age he learned German and French and thus represented a link between these two states crucial for the creation of a united Europe. By faith he was a Roman Catholic.
Members of the European Parliament initially sat sorted by nationality, but in less than two months they were seated according to their political ideologies (left-right), and that is how they sit to this day.
Today, the center-right is dominant in the European Parliament. The European People’s Party is the strongest, followed by the Social Democrats.
