Imelda Mary (Mel) Read became, in 1989 a member of the European Parliament and she remained a MEP until 2004. During that period, she was member and member of the Bureau of the Socialist Group; member and member of the Bureau of the Group of the Party of European Socialists; she was quaestor of the European Parliament and quaestor of the Parliament's Bureau; she was member of the Committee on Women's Rights, member of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs and Industrial Policy, member and Vice-Chair of the Delegation for relations with the countries of South Asia and the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), member of the Quaestors, member of the Committee on Industry, External Trade, Research and Energy, member of the Conference of Delegation Chairs, member and Chair of the Delegation for relations with the United States.