There are eight political groups in the European Parliament, ranging from socialist and environmental parties to right-of-centre parties:
Group of the European Peoples' Party (Christian Democrats). This is the largest group at the Parliament with 265 MEPs.
The Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats. This group includes 184 MEPs.
Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe. This group includes 84 MEPs.
Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance. This group includes 55 MEPs.
Confederal Group of the European United Left/Nordic Green Left. This group includes 35 MEPs.
European Conservatives and Reformists. This group includes 54 MEPs.
Independence/Democracy Group. This group includes 32 MEPs.
Non-attached members (these members are not affiliated with any political grouping). There are 27 non-attached MEP's.
MEPs do not sit in groups according to their nationality. They sit with a political group and use the secretarial services available to that group.
They act independently and cannot be obliged to vote any particular way. There is no party whip so if they do not want to go along with the party policy, they can vote their own way.