How many political groups are there in the European Parliament?

Although the Members of the European Parliament are elected nationally, Members do not organise themselves according to national allegiance; rather they organise themselves into groups according to political allegiance. 

The formation of the groups starts at Parliament’s first session after an election. According to the European Parliament’s Rules of Procedure a minimum of 20 Members from at least 1/5 of the member countries (currently 6 countries) are required to set up an independent group. There are currently seven political groups in the European Parliament and a number of independents. More than 100 national political parties are represented in the seven political groups.

Together with the President of the European Parliament, the chairmen of the groups make up the ‘Conference of Presidents’, which, among other things, has overall responsibility for setting the European Parliament’s agenda.

You can find further information about the political groups as well as links to their websites on the website of the European Parliament:

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/aboutparliament/en/007f2537e0/Political-groups.html