As the European Parliament's tenth term gathers momentum, five key committees โ ENVI, ECON, AFET, LIBE, and AGRI โ are driving a legislative agenda shaped by heightened political fragmentation and a rightward shift in the chamber's composition. With the effective number of parliamentary groups at 6.50 and no two-party majority possible since 2019, committee work has become the critical arena where multi-group coalitions are forged before plenary votes.
The EP10 term opened with the 2024 elections producing a more fragmented Parliament: EPP holds 188 seats (26.1%), S&D 136 (18.9%), PfE 86 (11.9%), ECR 78 (10.8%), Renew 77 (10.7%), Greens/EFA 53 (7.4%), The Left 46 (6.4%), and ESN 25 (3.5%). This multi-polar landscape means that committee rapporteurs must negotiate across at least three political groups to secure legislative majorities โ a structural change from the pre-2019 era when EPP and S&D together commanded over 50% of seats.
Strategic Context: A Parliament in Transition
The first full year of EP10 saw the adoption of over 100 legislative acts in 2025, with committee meetings reaching approximately 2,350 sessions across the year. The Parliament maintained a strong legislative throughput rate, processing an estimated 135 procedures and adopting 280 resolutions. Parliamentary questions exceeded 5,400, reflecting intensified MEP oversight of the European Commission.
Notably, the Herfindahl-Hirschman concentration index has fallen to 0.1538 from 0.2348 two decades ago, confirming the shift from a near-duopoly to a genuinely multi-polar party system. The top two groups now control only 45% of seats โ well below the 50% majority threshold โ requiring minimum winning coalitions of three groups for any significant legislation.
Committee Activity Analysis
ENVI โ Environment, Public Health and Food Safety
ENVI continues to carry one of the heaviest legislative workloads in the Parliament, with an estimated 100 active legislative files in early 2026. The committee's agenda is dominated by the implementation framework for the European Green Deal, including secondary legislation on the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and revisions to the Industrial Emissions Directive. The committee's high workload intensity reflects the ongoing tension between the EU's climate ambitions and the new political reality where centre-right and right-leaning groups hold greater influence.
Recent adopted texts from the February 2026 plenary sessions โ including T10-0054/2026 and T10-0044/2026 โ indicate continued legislative output on environmental standards, though the pace of ambitious Green Deal measures has moderated under the new political balance. ENVI rapporteurs face particular challenges in building cross-party consensus, as the EPP has signalled a more industry-friendly approach to environmental regulation in EP10.
ECON โ Economic and Monetary Affairs
The ECON committee is navigating a complex legislative landscape centred on financial services regulation and the EU's fiscal governance framework. Key ongoing files include the implementation of the Banking Package (CRR III/CRD VI), Capital Markets Union initiatives, and digital finance regulation following the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework adopted in EP9. Several 2025 ordinary legislative procedures (COD) โ including 2025/0012, 2025/0021, and 2025/0022 โ point to an active pipeline of economic legislation entering the committee phase.
With the eurozone facing persistent challenges around competitiveness and the implementation of the Draghi Report recommendations, ECON's work takes on added significance. The committee must balance deregulatory pressures from business-aligned groups with the need to maintain financial stability safeguards championed by S&D and The Left.
AFET โ Foreign Affairs
AFET's agenda has been dominated by the EU's evolving defence and security posture, particularly in light of ongoing geopolitical tensions. The committee is processing files related to the European Defence Industrial Strategy and the EU's response to strategic competition with major global powers. Non-legislative procedures (NLE) such as 2025/0009 and 2025/0035 reflect the growing volume of international agreement consultations flowing through the committee.
The rightward shift in Parliament has strengthened support for increased defence spending and a more assertive EU foreign policy, creating unusual cross-party alignments between EPP, ECR, and parts of Renew on security dossiers. However, divisions remain on enlargement policy and the EU's relationship with neighbouring regions, where Greens/EFA and The Left maintain distinct positions from the emerging centre-right consensus.
LIBE โ Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs
LIBE faces one of the most politically charged agendas in EP10, with migration policy, rule of law oversight, and digital rights at the forefront. The committee is overseeing the implementation of the Pact on Migration and Asylum โ one of EP9's landmark legislative achievements โ while simultaneously addressing new proposals on border security and returns policy that reflect the Parliament's rightward shift.
The committee's work on artificial intelligence regulation and data protection frameworks continues to generate significant interest. With adopted texts such as T10-0031/2026 and T10-0026/2026 recently updated in the parliamentary record, LIBE's output reflects a committee balancing liberal democratic values with growing political pressure for stricter security and migration controls. The coalition dynamics in LIBE are particularly fluid, with issue-by-issue alliances forming across traditional political divides.
AGRI โ Agriculture and Rural Development
AGRI is addressing the reform trajectory of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and the intersection of food security with environmental sustainability. The committee is processing legislative proposals related to sustainable food systems, pesticide reduction targets, and support mechanisms for European farmers facing global market volatility. Ordinary legislative procedures such as 2025/0023 and 2025/0039 suggest new regulatory frameworks entering the agricultural policy pipeline.
The political dynamics in AGRI have shifted notably in EP10, with stronger representation from farmer-friendly political groups. The EPP and ECR have pushed for greater flexibility in environmental requirements for agriculture, while Greens/EFA and S&D advocate maintaining the Farm-to-Fork Strategy's ambition levels. This tension is producing carefully negotiated compromise texts in committee, often requiring support from Renew as a swing vote.
Stakeholder Impact
Industry stakeholders stand to benefit from the more business-oriented approach emerging in committees like ENVI and ECON, where deregulatory proposals gain traction more easily under the new political balance. Environmental and civil society organisations, meanwhile, face a more challenging advocacy environment, particularly on Green Deal implementation and migration policy.
National governments are closely watching committee negotiations, as the multi-group coalition-building required in EP10 creates more opportunities for Council-Parliament alignment on pragmatic legislative compromises. Small and medium enterprises, farmers, and digital sector actors all have significant stakes in the legislative pipeline currently moving through these five committees.
What Happens Next
The spring 2026 plenary sessions in March and April are expected to see votes on several major files that have completed the committee stage. ENVI and ECON in particular have heavy rapporteur assignments due for plenary in the coming weeks. The committee coordination process โ where lead and opinion-giving committees align their positions โ will be critical in determining whether the fragmented Parliament can maintain legislative productivity comparable to EP9's peak of 148 acts in 2023.
Observers should watch for: the ENVI committee's handling of revised Green Deal implementation timelines; ECON's progress on Capital Markets Union legislation; AFET's response to evolving defence policy proposals; LIBE's management of migration implementation acts; and AGRI's negotiations on CAP flexibility measures. The ability of EP10's committees to produce workable compromises in a six-party-plus coalition environment will be the defining test of this Parliament's legislative effectiveness.
Why This Matters
Committee work in the European Parliament is where the substance of EU legislation is shaped. In EP10, the unprecedented level of political fragmentation โ with the effective number of parties at 6.50, the highest in EP history โ means that committee negotiations carry even greater weight than in previous terms. The compromises forged in ENVI, ECON, AFET, LIBE, and AGRI will determine the EU's regulatory direction on climate, finance, security, rights, and food policy for years to come. For citizens, businesses, and governments across the EU's 27 member states, these committee outputs translate directly into the rules that govern daily economic and social life.