At 82, Silvio Berlusconi is oldest MEP in new European Parliament

The oldest MEP in the new constitution of the European Parliament is former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. On the other hand, the youngest, at 21, is Kira Marie Peter-Hansen from Denmark

The 9th European Parliament since first direct elections in 1979 started on Tuesday, 40% of which are women, 60% being men and 61% are new MEPs.

The 9th legislature of the European Parliament was officially constituted in Strasbourg on Tuesday by outgoing President Antonio Tajani. The next President will be elected tomorrow morning and based on nominations which must be submitted by political groups by 10pm this evening.

Eight tellers, drawn by lot, have been appointed to oversee the vote.

Following direct elections across 28 member states between 23 and 26 May, in which 51% of voters cast a ballot to choose their representatives, the new European Parliament was officially established where a higher percentage turnover than ever before was registered. 40% of MEPs are women, the highest ever female representation in Parliament. In 2014, the percentage of women was at 37%.

The new parliament is composed of seven political groups, one less than the previous legislature. All MEPs who have not joined a political group are listed as non-aligned, but can decide at any stage to join a group. Since 2009, according to Parliament’s rules of procedure, a political group shall consist of at least 25 Members elected in at least seven member states.