International Day of Parliamentarism: a moment of reflection and appreciation
Improving society through years of cooperation
On June 30, 1889, the Inter-Parliamentary Union was created. Since 2018, we celebrate the International Day of Parliamentarism on that very same day, a commemoration that is dedicated to appreciating parliaments and to reflect on the goals they have reached in becoming more representative and become future ready.
The International Day of Parliamentarism holds particular relevance to the European Union (EU) elections, which just concluded this month. As citizens across member states casted their votes, 720 parliament members play a pivotal role in shaping EU policies and legislation. By fostering transparency, accountability, and representation, parliaments contribute to a stronger democratic foundation for the EU. This day serves as a reminder of the important role that elected representatives play in shaping the collective future of Europe.
Changes that are implemented by the parliament can be visualised with the support of open data. For example, there are tools to monitor the integrity of decisions made in the EU, accessible through the EU Integrity Watch. This platform transforms open data about the European Parliament into dashboards to inform journalists, citizens, and civil society about integrity activities, such as lobbying. Besides the EU level, there are also integrity dashboards available on country level, for example The Netherlands or Spain.
On our data.europa.eu portal, you can find transparent information of the European Parliament through more than 35,000 datasets. From annual budget decisions to information on the elected members, the data displays how the Parliament is making progress through the years and keeps citizens informed on the way their vote is represented.
For more news and events, follow us on X/Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, or subscribe to our newsletter.