Slovakia will retain its 13 seats in the European Parliament at the upcoming 2014 election, following a redistribution of mandates after the July 1 accession of Croatia into the European Union (EU) held on Wednesday, June 12.
MEPs approved a proposal put forward by the European Commission, according to which 12 EU-member states are due to lose one mandate each after next year's vote. These countries are: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Lithuania, Latvia, Portugal and Romania. In addition, Germany will lose three seats. The proposal will also result in no existing members states acquiring extra seats.
The changes in the distribution come in line with the accession of Croatia as the EU's 28th member, and the Treaty of Lisbon, which sets the maximum number of MEPs at 751 [there are currently 754] and limits the maximum number of seats per country to 96. The proposal is set to be debated at the summit of prime ministers and presidents of EU member-states slated to take place between June 27 and 28 in Brussels.
Slovakia lost one seat in the European Parliament in 2009, following the inclusion of Bulgaria and Romania in 2007.
Source: TASR
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
13. Jun 2013 at 14:00
