• 736 MEPs to be elected in June

• 3 places of work (Brussels, Strasbourg, Luxembourg)

• almost 200 political parties from 27 Member States represented

• 481 reports adopted in plenary and 7,816 parliamentary questions made in 2007

Malta has the best ratio of population/MEP among all the 27 Member States with one MEP for every 80,800 citizens. With six seats under the Lisbon Treaty, a Maltese Member of the European Parliament would represent 67,300 people. The lowest ratio would still be Germany, with an MEP for 858,729 German citizens.

The European Parliament's work is carried out from 24 buildings in Brussels, Luxembourg and Strasbourg, besides the EP offices which operate in the capitals of each Member State.

The total area occupied by the EP is just over one million square metres!

Fact 1:

There may be more than 10,000 people at given times in the EP buildings. The number of officials and temporary staff exceeds 6,000. In addition, there are MEP assistants and the staff of private service providers working in building management, IT, cleaning and canteen service. With journalists, visitors and lobbyists, the total number of people working in the three main workplaces swells even further.

Food, glorious food... and litres of coffee!

The sheer large numbers working at the European Parliament and the hundreds of daily visitors call for a well-equipped canteen. Each year, there are no less than 605,000 visits to the EP's self-service canteen in Brussels.

There are 26,500 yearly visits to the cafeteria on the 12th floor, 94,000 to the sandwich shop and 505,000 visits to the Hemicycle bar, the Forum bar, the MEPs' bar and the Press bar. No less than 59,000 meals are served in the MEPs' restaurant and 405,000 coffees in meetings and conferences.

How much does the European Parliament cost?

In 2008, the total EP budget was €1.45 billion, including costs of translation, travel to and from Strasbourg, Brussels and Luxembourg, MEP offices and expenses, staff salaries and political group funding. It does not include MEPs' salaries which are paid nationally.

Fact 2:

Some 57 per cent of the total EP budget is spent on translation and interpretation into 23 working languages, and the cost of moving between Brussels and Strasbourg. The costs associated with travelling to Strasbourg are often a controversial issue. Notwithstanding that most MEPs dislike having to travel for a plenary 12 times a year, the matter is out of the EP's hands as it is only through an amendment in the EU treaties that this can be changed, and that needs unanimous support of all Member States.