A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) elected by fellow MEPs when one of the European Parliament Committees (EP Committees) is assigned to prepare a report on a legislative proposal or other European Commission document, or the EP Committee decides to prepare an own-initiative report.

Once the report is adopted by the Committee, the Rapporteur presents it to the EP plenary where it is voted on.

The Rapporteur often acts as a liaison officer between the EP Committee, the EP plenary, the Council and the Commission, representing the Committee's, and later on, the EP plenary's position, at all stages, including both formal and informal conciliation. Other political parties will often nominate a Shadow Rapporteur, who closely follows the work of the Committee's official Rapporteur.