Quote:A member of European parliament cannot propose a law or propose the repeal of a law

From the EU's own website:

 

"In the beginning, the 1957 Treaty of Rome gave Parliament an advisory role in the legislative process; the Commission proposed and the Council adopted legislation. The Single European Act (1986) and the Maastricht, Amsterdam, Nice and Lisbon Treaties successively extended Parliament's prerogatives. It can now co-legislate on equal footing with the Council in a vast majority of areas (see Ordinary legislative procedure) and consultation became a special legislative procedure (or even a non-legislative procedure) used in a limited number of cases."

 

Quote:From a British Lord who should presumably know the law better than some Jags fan from the Netherlands.

 

From the same website:

 

"The European Parliament may approve or reject a legislative proposal, or propose amendments to it. The Council is not legally obliged to take account of Parliament's opinion but in line with the case-law of the Court of Justice, it must not take a decision without having received it."

 

Link.

 

So in the end, the EUP can propose laws, they can propose amendments and they can reject laws it's just that their opinion isn't binding (much like this referendum). BTW, the European Council is made of the cabinets of the EU member states, which in the case of the UK where/are all elected officials (though ultimately appointed to their respective cabinets). The Commission referred to in Malabar's post is made up of 28 members appointed by the Council and approved by Parliament. Much like how the Secretary of State is appointed by the President and approved by the Senate. 

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