European Parliament set up its own Snapchat account, the fastest growing social media network on the planet, last May in order to allow the over 200 million Snapchat users to get a fun glimpse into the workings of the EU.

Photos and videos garnished with short texts and smileys are the core ingredients of Snapchat. Most users are under the age of 30, making the photo sharing app one of the youngest social media networks. For the Parliament it is a chance to reach out to future voters and provide them with a daily insight into what is going on in Brussels and Strasbourg. For example, how does the corridor of the Parliament look on a busy committee day? And what can you hear when the plenary commences in the hemicycle?

The stories Parliament posts on Snapchat comprise primarily of images with text as well as 10-second videos. Each Friday a wrap-up of the week is published, where the issues on Parliament’s agenda are presented in a creative manner.

With Snapchat Europeans can communicate directly with the Parliament. On a daily basis EU Parliament receives photos, videos and queries from across Europe and most users can expect to receive an answer. In September Parliament’s Snapchat account welcomed its 1,000th follower. Users who want to follow EU Parliament can add it using the username “europarl” .