"The election on November 25th will be an opportunity to assert the importance of the country within the European Union": Hans-Gert Poettering, president of the EU Assembly, sends a message for the election due in Romania on Sunday for choosing one of the 35 national MEPs to be sent to Strasbourg and Brussels. "Your future is our common future, and our common future is Europe", states the German politician, who had visited the country in mid-October. Romania, which joined the EU on January 1st this year along with Bulgaria, so far had been represented within the EU by members elected by Bucharest’s Parliament; the elected members will remain at the European Parliament until the next European election in June 2009. Voters aged 18 or above, of Rumanian nationality, will go to the polls on Sunday, but other European citizens residing in the country may also vote. Nominees had to be aged 23 or above. Thirteen parties will vie for the seats, based on a proportional representation with a 5% limit. Bulgaria had elected its 18 MEPs last May.
