Euro parliament preparing for new members

Only a few months following the integration of MEPs from the 10 new European Union member states into the European Parliament, preparations are already at hand to welcome more new MEPs, this time from Bulgaria and Romania, the two countries next in line for EU accession. The Conference of Presidents of the European Parliament has just taken the first steps needed to welcome observers from the Bulgarian and Romanian Parliaments in 2005, after the signing of the accession treaties with these countries. This procedure is the same as that adopted before the last enlargement when MEPs from the new accession states, including Malta, stated taking part in all the EP structures as observers once the accession treaties were signed.

The Conference invited Parliament's Bureau to adopt the proposal requesting the Romanian and Bulgarian parliaments to designate, at the time the accession treaty is signed, 35 and 18 observers respectively.

These numbers correspond to the number of MEPs allocated to the two countries for the period 2007 - 2009. The observers from the candidate countries will have the right to participate in the work of committees and inter-parliamentary delegations as allocated by their respective political groups but will not have the right to vote or to be elected to positions of responsibility.