The European Parliament will receive, at the session of 15-18 January in Strasbourg, the 18 Bulgarian MEPs and the 35 Rumanian MEPs who will bring the Assembly to 784 members. The delegates from Sofia and Bucharest are appointed by their national parliaments, while the direct appointment of the MEPs from the two countries will take place in May. The MEPs will be assigned to three groups: People’s Parties, Socialists, Liberal Democrats, although a new political group might be set up. "With the recent extension of the Union comments the press office of the EU institution the number of women within Parliament has slightly decreased". In this respect, a report which is going to be reviewed by the floor next week, signed by the Slovakian MEP Anna Záborská, asserts "the importance of equality between men and women in the political decision-making process" and "makes appeal to the political groups to boost and support the full participation of women in public life". The European political groups are also invited "to take measures to introduce a compulsory quota system in their lists for every board".
