Strasbourg, 04/09/2007 (Agence Europe) - The Parliamentary session opened in Strasbourg on Monday evening with a highly political debate on an issue that some say is one of the most difficult of the new session, the future make-up of the European Parliament, and, more especially, how the seats will be allocated among the 27 EU member states. On Monday, Alain Lamassoure (EPP-ED) and his Romanian co-rapporteur, Socialist Adrian Severin presented their report to the constitutional affairs committee on the future composition of the current785 member Parliament. In a nine-page document, they set out a series of rules to govern the make-up of the institution. Firstly, the total number of MEPs would cut to 750. In parallel, the total number of seats allocated to a state would fall from 99 (the current number of German MEPs) to 96, and the minimum number would be raised from five (the number of MEPs Malta has) to six. With regard to sharing out the seats, there would be the principle of “degressive proportionality”, an option described as “ideal” by the two rapporteurs, and which was accepted. This mechanism, which would take account of the demographic importance of countries in the allocation of seats, would mean that the more heavily populated a member state is the more inhabitants its MEPs would have to represent. According to Messrs Lamassoure and Severin, the “mathematical formula will provide not only a solution to the present review, but also for future enlargements and amendments due to demographic changes”. They also gave assurances that their calculations were not intended to favour “either the large, or the medium-sized, or the small”. Saying that the current system, which favoured the large countries, had to be completely reviewed, Mr Lamassoure said that there would be an end to categories of countries. Mr Severin added, “We simply want to avoid setting up groups that don't make sense”. Three key principles informed their report: - the principle of “European solidarity”, within which the large states agree to have fewer seats compared with the number they would have received if allocation had been strictly in line with population size; - the principle of “justified flexibility”, which allows the number of seats to be amended to lessen as much as possible the differences in representation among states; - the principle of “national representation”, to ensure that each state has sufficient seats to be representative of all shades of national opinion. During the debate, the two rapporteurs listened to the various reactions from their colleagues, taking care not to give out the figures that are to be presented in Brussels on 11 September at a meeting of the constitutional affairs committee. These give a country-by-country break-down and will be adopted at the mini plenary session on 10-11 October, before being put to heads of state and government, who will make their unanimous decision at the informal summit in Lisbon on 18-19 October. Mr Lamassoure said that pragmatism should win the day to avoid “impassioned” talks, the various capitals judging this issue to be among the most important. By way of warning, the French MEP pointed out that there were only two options on the table: one consisting of agreeing to the proposed new formula, and the other of losing 49 seats. From the 2009-2014 Parliament, the number of MEPs allocated to each member state will be amended (for example, France will have 72, instead of 78). The maximum number will be lowered to 736. These rules are contained in the treaty of accession to the EU of Bulgaria and Romania, not yet in force. (bc)