Which Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) have most influence?
Who has most power to shape the political agenda and drive social change?
The Influence Index reveals the 100 most influential MEPs based on political and social media data from the one-year period up to August 2021.
Explore for more data insights.
| MEP Name | Political Score | Social Score | Overall Score | Rising Stars | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Manfred WEBER  EPP, @ManfredWeber Germany | 78 | 93.6 | 85.8 | ^1 |
 | Iratxe GARCÍA PÉREZ  S&D, @IratxeGarper Spain | 88 | 77.1 | 82.3 | ^2 |
 | Sven GIEGOLD Greens/EFA, @sven_giegold Germany | 66 | 94.2 | 80.0 | ^3 |
 | Dacian CIOLOŞ  Renew, @CiolosDacian Romania | 83 | 75.2 | 79.0 | ^1 |
 | David-Maria SASSOLI  S&D, @DavidSassoli Italy | 100 | 56.1 | 78.1 | |
 | Pascal CANFIN  Renew, @pcanfin France | 55 | 95.7 | 75.4 | ^2 |
 | Luis GARICANO Renew, @lugaricano Spain | 57 | 93.7 | 75.2 | |
 | Bernd LANGE S&D, @berndlange Germany | 58 | 91.9 | 75.1 | ^10 |
 | Antonio TAJANI EPP, @Antonio_Tajani Italy | 70 | 79.1 | 74.6 | |
 | Heidi HAUTALA  Greens/EFA, @HeidiHautala Finland | 73 | 76.1 | 74.6 | ^1 |
 | Reinhard BÜTIKOFER Greens/EFA, @bueti Germany | 44 | 100.0 | 71.8 | |
 | Kathleen VAN BREMPT  S&D, @kvanbrempt Belgium | 49 | 90.1 | 69.4 | |
 | Karen MELCHIOR  Renew, @karmel80 Denmark | 44 | 94.8 | 69.2 | ^153 |
 | Bas EICKHOUT  Greens/EFA, @BasEickhout Netherlands | 54 | 83.3 | 68.8 | |
 | Brando BENIFEI S&D, @brandobenifei Italy | 51 | 85.5 | 68.2 | ^40 |
 | Ville NIINISTÖ Greens/EFA, @VilleNiinisto Finland | 44 | 92.1 | 68.2 | ^23 |
 | Guy VERHOFSTADT Renew, @guyverhofstadt Belgium | 48 | 87.9 | 68.1 | ^45 |
 | Dimitrios PAPADIMOULIS  The Left, @papadimoulis Greece | 64 | 71.0 | 67.6 | |
 | Karima DELLI Greens/EFA, @KarimaDelli France | 41 | 93.6 | 67.4 | ^24 |
 | Hilde VAUTMANS Renew, @hildevautmans Belgium | 48 | 86.8 | 67.4 | |
 | Inma RODRÍGUEZ-PIÑERO S&D, @RodriguezPinero Spain | 41 | 92.1 | 66.8 | ^53 |
 | Tiemo WÖLKEN S&D, @woelken Germany | 47 | 85.5 | 66.3 | ^15 |
 | Dita CHARANZOVÁ  Renew, @charanzova Czech Republic | 63 | 68.5 | 65.6 | ^9 |
 | Sophia in 't VELD Renew, @SophieintVeld Netherlands | 51 | 80.2 | 65.6 | |
 | María Soraya RODRÍGUEZ RAMOS Renew, @sorayarr_ Spain | 43 | 87.8 | 65.3 | ^8 |
 | Anna CAVAZZINI Greens/EFA, @anna_cavazzini Germany | 36 | 94.5 | 65.2 | ^102 |
 | Manon AUBRY The Left, @ManonAubryFr France | 32 | 97.6 | 64.8 | |
 | Nathalie LOISEAU Renew, @NathalieLoiseau France | 35 | 93.5 | 64.2 | ^42 |
 | Michèle RIVASI Greens/EFA, @MicheleRivasi France | 33 | 95.1 | 64.1 | ^36 |
 | David McALLISTER EPP, @davidmcallister Germany | 52 | 74.4 | 63.2 | ^100 |
 | Maria Da Graça CARVALHO  EPP, @mgracacarvalho Portugal | 39 | 87.2 | 63.1 | ^64 |
 | Frances FITZGERALD  EPP, @FitzgeraldFrncs Ireland | 45 | 80.5 | 62.8 | |
 | César LUENA S&D, @cesarluena Spain | 39 | 86.5 | 62.7 | ^9 |
 | Andreas SCHWAB EPP, @Andreas_Schwab Germany | 48 | 76.1 | 62.3 | |
 | Zdzisław KRASNODĘBSKI  ECR, @ZdzKrasnodebski Poland | 48 | 76.9 | 62.3 | |
 | Younous OMARJEE The Left, @younousomarjee France | 50 | 73.6 | 61.9 | |
 | Ciarán CUFFE Greens/EFA, @CiaranCuffe Ireland | 36 | 88.1 | 61.9 | ^14 |
 | Johan VAN OVERTVELDT ECR, @jvanovertveldt Belgium | 72 | 51.2 | 61.7 | ^6 |
 | Marie-Pierre VEDRENNE Renew, @MariePierreV France | 44 | 78.9 | 61.6 | ^130 |
 | Dolors MONTSERRAT EPP, @DolorsMM Spain | 45 | 76.7 | 61.0 | |
 | Marcel KOLAJA Greens/EFA, @PiratKolaja Czech Republic | 50 | 71.4 | 60.9 | ^82 |
 | Ibán GARCÍA DEL BLANCO S&D, @Ibangarciadb Spain | 35 | 86.8 | 60.9 | |
 | Peter LIESE EPP, @peterliese Germany | 41 | 80.5 | 60.6 | ^16 |
 | Lina GÁLVEZ MUÑOZ S&D, @linagalvezmunoz Spain | 42 | 79.1 | 60.4 | |
 | Saskia BRICMONT Greens/EFA, @saskiabricmont Belgium | 29 | 91.5 | 60.1 | ^97 |
 | Javi LÓPEZ S&D, @javilopezEU Spain | 39 | 80.7 | 59.9 | ^7 |
 | Anna-Michelle ASIMAKOPOULOU EPP, @AnnaAsimakopoul Greece | 34 | 85.4 | 59.8 | ^20 |
 | Tomáš ZDECHOVSKÝ EPP, @TomasZdechovsky Czech Republic | 33 | 85.9 | 59.5 | ^152 |
 | Grace O'SULLIVAN Greens/EFA, @GraceOSllvn Ireland | 33 | 85.3 | 59.4 | ^108 |
 | Juan Fernando LÓPEZ AGUILAR S&D, @JFLopezAguilar Spain | 71 | 47.9 | 59.4 | |
 | Véronique TRILLET-LENOIR Renew, @VTrillet_Lenoir France | 30 | 88.2 | 59.3 | ^87 |
 | Danuta Maria HÜBNER EPP, @danutahuebner Poland | 49 | 68.9 | 59.1 | |
 | Pierre KARLESKIND Renew, @Pierre_Ka France | 39 | 78.8 | 59.0 | |
 | Ernest URTASUN Greens/EFA, @ernesturtasun Spain | 34 | 83.9 | 59.0 | |
 | Martin HÄUSLING Greens/EFA, @MartinHaeusling Germany | 25 | 92.8 | 58.9 | ^57 |
 | Raphaël GLUCKSMANN S&D, @rglucks1 France | 22 | 95.4 | 58.8 | ^52 |
 | Marie TOUSSAINT Greens/EFA, @marietouss1 France | 21 | 95.3 | 58.2 | ^17 |
 | Rasmus ANDRESEN Greens/EFA, @RasmusAndresen Germany | 38 | 78.6 | 58.1 | |
 | Terry REINTKE Greens/EFA, @TerryReintke Germany | 35 | 80.7 | 58.1 | |
 | Siegfried MUREŞAN EPP, @SMuresan Romania | 53 | 63.1 | 58.1 | |
 | Axel VOSS EPP, @AxelVossMdEP Germany | 42 | 74.0 | 57.8 | ^5 |
 | David CORMAND Greens/EFA, @DavidCormand France | 29 | 86.0 | 57.3 | ^35 |
 | Marisa MATIAS The Left, @mmatias_ Portugal | 35 | 79.7 | 57.3 | ^56 |
 | Jacek SARYUSZ-WOLSKI ECR, @JSaryuszWolski Poland | 30 | 84.6 | 57.2 | ^446 |
 | Valérie HAYER Renew, @ValerieHayer France | 47 | 67.0 | 57.2 | ^34 |
 | Andrus ANSIP  Renew, @Ansip_EU Estonia | 52 | 61.8 | 56.9 | ^24 |
 | Fabienne KELLER Renew, @fabienne_keller France | 28 | 86.3 | 56.9 | |
 | Robert BIEDROŃ S&D, @RobertBiedron Poland | 37 | 76.6 | 56.9 | |
 | Michael BLOSS Greens/EFA, @micha_bloss Germany | 15 | 98.6 | 56.7 | ^36 |
 | Chrysoula ZACHAROPOULOU Renew, @CZacharopoulou France | 40 | 72.5 | 56.4 | ^36 |
 | Geert BOURGEOIS ECR, @GeertBourgeois Belgium | 33 | 80.0 | 56.4 | ^100 |
 | José GUSMÃO The Left, @joseggusmao Portugal | 35 | 77.9 | 56.4 | |
 | Tilly METZ  Greens/EFA, @MetzTilly Luxembourg | 37 | 74.9 | 56.0 | ^47 |
 | Andrzej HALICKI EPP, @AndrzejHalicki Poland | 47 | 65.3 | 56.0 | |
 | Sergey LAGODINSKY Greens/EFA, @SLagodinsky Germany | 32 | 80.2 | 56.0 | ^88 |
 | Eric ANDRIEU S&D, @EricAndrieuEU France | 34 | 77.9 | 55.8 | ^462 |
 | Katarina BARLEY S&D, @katarinabarley Germany | 48 | 63.3 | 55.7 | |
 | Thierry MARIANI ID, @ThierryMARIANI France | 23 | 88.6 | 55.7 | ^132 |
 | Petras AUŠTREVIČIUS  Renew, @petras_petras Lithuania | 44 | 67.4 | 55.6 | ^25 |
 | Carlo CALENDA S&D, @CarloCalenda Italy | 19 | 91.6 | 55.5 | ^29 |
 | Jordi CAÑAS Renew, @jordi_canyas Spain | 28 | 82.1 | 55.2 | |
 | Nicola BEER Renew, @nicolabeerfdp Germany | 43 | 66.9 | 55.0 | ^8 |
 | Sandro GOZI Renew, @sandrogozi France | 29 | 80.5 | 54.9 | ^51 |
 | Paolo DE CASTRO S&D, @paolodecastro Italy | 47 | 62.1 | 54.6 | ^52 |
 | Manuel BOMPARD The Left, @mbompard France | 13 | 96.6 | 54.6 | ^25 |
 | Margarida MARQUES S&D, @mmargmarques Portugal | 42 | 66.9 | 54.6 | |
 | José Ramón BAUZÁ DÍAZ Renew, @jrbauza Spain | 35 | 74.2 | 54.6 | ^1 |
 | Eleonora EVI Greens/EFA, @EleonoraEvi Italy | 21 | 88.3 | 54.6 | ^27 |
 | Miapetra KUMPULA-NATRI S&D, @miapetrakumpula Finland | 25 | 84.2 | 54.6 | |
 | Patrick BREYER Greens/EFA, @echo_pbreyer Germany | 16 | 92.8 | 54.4 | ^52 |
 | Pierre LARROUTUROU S&D, @larrouturou France | 17 | 91.5 | 54.3 | ^115 |
 | Irène TOLLERET Renew, @ITolleret France | 27 | 81.6 | 54.2 | ^88 |
 | Agnes JONGERIUS S&D, @a_jongerius Netherlands | 47 | 61.0 | 54.0 | |
 | Maria ARENA S&D, @Mariearenaps Belgium | 30 | 78.0 | 53.9 | ^104 |
 | Dennis RADTKE EPP, @RadtkeMdEP Germany | 45 | 63.1 | 53.9 | ^32 |
 | Georgios KYRTSOS EPP, @GiorgosKyrtsos Greece | 25 | 83.3 | 53.9 | ^89 |
 | Irene TINAGLI S&D, @itinagli Italy | 63 | 44.3 | 53.9 | |
 | Mick WALLACE The Left, @wallacemick Ireland | 14 | 93.2 | 53.9 | ^76 |
 | Anna FOTYGA ECR, @AnnaFotyga_PE Poland | 32 | 75.5 | 53.8 | ^147 |
 | Jutta PAULUS Greens/EFA, @juttapaulusrlp Germany | 19 | 88.4 | 53.8 | ^53 |
 | Stéphanie YON-COURTIN Renew, @s_yoncourtin France | 46 | 60.5 | 53.5 | |
 | Engin EROGLU Renew, @EnginEroglu_FW Germany | 20 | 87.0 | 53.5 | ^314 |
 | Yannick JADOT Greens/EFA, @yjadot France | 19 | 87.5 | 53.3 | |
 | Alexandra GEESE Greens/EFA, @AlexandraGeese Germany | 22 | 83.7 | 53.0 | ^145 |
 | Margrete AUKEN Greens/EFA, @MargreteAuken Denmark | 26 | 79.4 | 52.9 | ^101 |
 | Clara AGUILERA S&D, @ClaraAguilera7 Spain | 44 | 61.9 | 52.7 | ^43 |
 | Miguel URBÁN CRESPO The Left, @MiguelUrban Spain | 20 | 84.9 | 52.5 | |
 | Eva MAYDELL  EPP, @EvaMaydell Bulgaria | 25 | 79.6 | 52.3 | ^20 |
 | Carlos ZORRINHO S&D, @czorrinho Portugal | 43 | 61.4 | 52.3 | |
 | Luke Ming FLANAGAN The Left, @lukeming Ireland | 23 | 81.2 | 52.1 | ^5 |
 | Nikolaj VILLUMSEN The Left, @nvillumsen Denmark | 23 | 80.8 | 51.8 | |
 | Assita KANKO ECR, @Assita_Kanko Belgium | 20 | 83.8 | 51.7 | ^85 |
 | Viola VON CRAMON-TAUBADEL Greens/EFA, @ViolavonCramon Germany | 18 | 85.2 | 51.6 | ^181 |
 | Othmar KARAS  EPP, @othmar_karas Austria | 57 | 45.5 | 51.5 | |
 | Lukas MANDL EPP, @lukasmandl Austria | 42 | 60.7 | 51.3 | ^12 |
 | Nicolás GONZÁLEZ CASARES S&D, @nicogoncas Spain | 27 | 75.6 | 51.3 | |
 | François-Xavier BELLAMY EPP, @fxbellamy France | 23 | 79.2 | 50.9 | ^60 |
 | Benoît BITEAU Greens/EFA, @BenoitBiteau France | 19 | 82.4 | 50.9 | ^174 |
 | Pierfrancesco MAJORINO S&D, @pfmajorino Italy | 25 | 76.1 | 50.7 | ^45 |
 | Clare DALY The Left, @ClareDalyMEP Ireland | 21 | 79.6 | 50.5 | ^101 |
 | Seán KELLY EPP, @SeanKellyMEP Ireland | 21 | 79.8 | 50.5 | |
 | Marek BELKA S&D, @profmarekbelka Poland | 42 | 58.4 | 50.3 | ^102 |
 | Jytte GUTELAND  S&D, @JytteGuteland Sweden | 46 | 54.1 | 50.1 | ^38 |
 | Hermann TERTSCH ECR, @hermanntertsch Spain | 17 | 82.3 | 49.7 | |
 | Roberta METSOLA  EPP, @RobertaMetsola Malta | 49 | 49.9 | 49.4 | |
 | Jorge BUXADÉ VILLALBA ECR, @Jorgebuxade Spain | 14 | 84.8 | 49.4 | ^19 |
 | Pär HOLMGREN Greens/EFA, @ParHolmgren Sweden | 20 | 78.1 | 49.3 | |
 | Fabio Massimo CASTALDO NI, @FMCastaldo Italy | 50 | 48.5 | 49.1 | ^211 |
 | Paul TANG S&D, @paultang Netherlands | 22 | 76.0 | 48.8 | ^28 |
 | Christel SCHALDEMOSE S&D, @SchaldemoseMEP Denmark | 44 | 53.1 | 48.6 | ^8 |
 | Svenja HAHN Renew, @svenja_hahn Germany | 16 | 80.7 | 48.5 | ^221 |
 | Sylwia SPUREK Greens/EFA, @SylwiaSpurek Poland | 21 | 75.4 | 48.3 | |
 | Leila CHAIBI The Left, @leilachaibi France | 12 | 83.5 | 48.0 | |
 | Karin KARLSBRO Renew, @KarinKarlsbro Sweden | 46 | 49.4 | 47.7 | ^6 |
 | Ryszard CZARNECKI ECR, @r_czarnecki Poland | 58 | 36.7 | 47.5 | |
 | Sandra KALNIETE  EPP, @Kalniete Latvia | 48 | 46.1 | 47.2 | ^83 |
 | José Manuel FERNANDES EPP, @JMFernandesEU Portugal | 63 | 31.4 | 47.1 | |
 | Markus FERBER EPP, @MarkusFerber Germany | 58 | 35.6 | 46.6 | |
 | Philippe LAMBERTS Greens/EFA, @ph_lamberts Belgium | 46 | 45.7 | 45.9 | ^47 |
 | Olivier CHASTEL Renew, @OChastel Belgium | 49 | 43.1 | 45.9 | ^24 |
 | Miriam LEXMANN  EPP, @MiriamMLex Slovakia | 14 | 75.9 | 45.0 | ^245 |
 | Jeroen LENAERS EPP, @jeroen_lenaers Netherlands | 56 | 31.9 | 43.8 | ^232 |
 | Birgit SIPPEL S&D, @BirgitSippelMEP Germany | 61 | 24.9 | 42.9 | |
 | Charlie WEIMERS ECR, @weimers Sweden | 9 | 75.8 | 42.3 | ^195 |
 | Nils TORVALDS Renew, @nilstorvalds Finland | 58 | 26.4 | 42.0 | |
 | Gilbert COLLARD ID, @GilbertCollard France | 5 | 77.2 | 40.8 | ^65 |
 | Elsi KATAINEN Renew, @ElsiKatainen Finland | 45 | 34.6 | 40.0 | |
 | Paulo RANGEL EPP, @PauloRangel_pt Portugal | 48 | 31.2 | 39.4 | ^26 |
 | Christophe HANSEN EPP, @CHansenEU Luxembourg | 46 | 32.3 | 39.1 | ^12 |
 | Dragoș PÎSLARU Renew, @dragos_pislaru Romania | 54 | 23.7 | 39.0 | |
 | Eider GARDIAZABAL RUBIAL S&D, @EGardiazabal Spain | 58 | 17.2 | 37.6 | |
 | Norbert LINS EPP, @LinsNorbert Germany | 44 | 31.7 | 37.6 | ^41 |
 | Daniel CASPARY EPP, @caspary Germany | 51 | 22.7 | 36.9 | |
 | Ulrike MÜLLER Renew, @UliMuellerMdEP Germany | 47 | 24.5 | 35.6 | ^54 |
 | Ewa KOPACZ EPP, @EwaKopacz Poland | 52 | 17.6 | 35.0 | |
 | Domènec RUIZ DEVESA S&D, @DomenecD Spain | 44 | 26.3 | 35.0 | ^228 |
 | Vangelis MEIMARAKIS EPP, @v_meimarakis Greece | 41 | 26.6 | 33.9 | |
 | Javier MORENO SÁNCHEZ S&D, @J_MorenoSanchez Spain | 47 | 19.3 | 33.2 | ^23 |
 | Tonino PICULA  S&D, @TPicula Croatia | 43 | 21.6 | 32.1 | ^55 |
 | Jonás FERNÁNDEZ S&D, @jonasfernandez Spain | 51 | 12.3 | 31.5 | |
 | Martina DLABAJOVÁ Renew, @Mdlabajova Czech Republic | 49 | 13.4 | 31.2 | ^23 |
 | Jens GEIER S&D, @EuropaJens Germany | 42 | 20.3 | 31.2 | ^34 |
 | Pedro SILVA PEREIRA S&D Portugal | 61 | 0.0 | 30.3 | |
 | Isabel SANTOS S&D, @isabel_mep Portugal | 42 | 17.5 | 29.7 | ^117 |
 | Ryszard Antoni LEGUTKO ECR Poland | 59 | 0.0 | 29.7 | |
 | Simona BONAFÈ S&D, @simonabonafe Italy | 45 | 13.9 | 29.5 | |
 | Charles GOERENS Renew, @CharlesGoerens Luxembourg | 41 | 16.2 | 28.7 | |
 | Cristian-Silviu BUŞOI EPP, @CristianSBusoi Romania | 49 | 7.6 | 28.3 | |
 | Rainer WIELAND EPP Germany | 53 | 0.0 | 26.4 | |
 | Dan NICA S&D Romania | 53 | 0.0 | 26.4 | ^10 |
 | Marian-Jean MARINESCU EPP, @MarianMarinescu Romania | 46 | 6.5 | 26.1 | |
 | Christian EHLER EPP, @MEP_Ehler Germany | 43 | 8.5 | 25.8 | |
 | Klára DOBREV  S&D, @DobrevKlara Hungary | 44 | 5.9 | 25.1 | ^1 |
 | Monika HOHLMEIER EPP, @MHohlmeier Germany | 47 | 2.5 | 24.6 | ^87 |
 | Johan DANIELSSON S&D, @johandanielsson Sweden | 46 | 0.3 | 23.1 | |
 | Alice KUHNKE Greens/EFA, @AliceBahKuhnke Sweden | 44 | 0.0 | 21.8 |
European President David-Maria Sassoli of the Socialists & Democrats (S&D) group has most political clout, whilst two German Greens, Reinhard Bütikofer and Michael Bloss, top the leaderboard for social influence. When looking at social and political influence combined, the EPP’s Manfred Weber tops the Index. Two women feature in the top ten most politically influential MEPs this year, while six make it to the top ten for social influence.
INFLUENCE BY COUNTRY
German MEPs have most political clout, on average, followed by Spanish and Romanian MEPs. Hungarian MEPs drop most points for political influence since 2020, possibly linked to Fidesz’s departure from the EPP political party.
French MEPs lead by a large margin for social influence, compensating for ranking last for political influence. MEPs from Germany and the Czech Republic gain most social influence, with increased political campaigning in these countries ahead of their national elections in Autumn 2021.
INFLUENCE BY POLITICAL GROUP
In accordance with the share of their seats, MEPs from the Socialists & Democrats (S&D) group have most political influence, followed by Renew Europe and the European People’s Party (EPP). When it comes to social influence, the Greens/EFA group enjoys a comfortable lead.
INFLUENCE BY AGE AND GENDER
The Influence Index suggests political influence increases with age, with MEPs over 60 holding more political power than their younger counterparts. Meanwhile, MEPs under 39 score highest for social media influence across all policy areas, suggesting a generational gap in the way parliamentarians cultivate influence.
Despite being under-represented in the European Parliament, female MEPs are on average more influential than their male counterparts.