No 520
Monday, 19th May, 2014
Tel: 96 673 0057
TIME TO MAKE UP YOUR MIND
T
his week sees another landmark in Europe´s history, as the continent embarks on the next phase of election to choose the 751 members of the European parliament who will represent the people of the member states for the next five years. Taking place between the 22nd and the 25th of May, the actual day of voting is dictated by the laws of each member state. It is widely known that the UK generally goes to the polling booths on a Thursday, whereas the standard in Spain is Sunday, for example, which is why the elections are held over a period of days. The results from all 28 states of Europe will be announced on the evening of Sunday the 25th. The number of elected parliament members has been reduced to 751, after increasing to 766 when Croatia
joined the EU in 2013. According to the official data, the MEPs represent over 500 million citizens in 28 member states, whereas the seats are allocated on the basis of “degressive proportionality”, meaning countries with larger populations have more seats than smaller ones but the latter have more seats than strict proportionality would imply. As a local party who blatantly profess a sole interest in the Orihuela Costa, the local C.L.A.R.O. political group will not be standing in the European elections, but the group, under the lead of Bob Houliston, has been instrumental in assisting many confused ex-pat voters through the process and procedures of voting, as well as emphasizing the importance. In a statement, Bob Houliston shows how the European Parliament has been of huge importance to the people served at a local level, explaining how on two occasions recently the European Parliament has supported Petitions presented by Continued on Page 2