National parties and political groups in the EP

Over the nine terms of the Parliament to date, the successive increases in the number of Member States and MEPs have been outpaced by the growth in the number of national political parties represented in the EP. Whilst the number of political groups has fluctuated between seven and ten – it is currently seven – the threshold for forming a group has been raised over time, and groups have included Members from a greater number of parties from a greater number of Member States – 203 national political parties today, compared with 127 in 1999, and 57 in 1979.