When Election Day in May arrives you will have the opportunity to vote in both Local Authority and European elections. In Dublin, the European electorate will elect three MEPs. Every person who is an EU citizen is entitled to vote, either in their home country or in the country in which they reside. They need to be on the electoral register in the country in which they wish to vote.

To a large extent in past European elections you decided your voting intention on the bases of the  national party candidate you liked best. Under the Lisbon Treaty the position of Commission President, the Council of Ministers, are to have account of how the citizens of Europe have voted, when making their nomination for this important position. This will be measured by the number of votes each grouping’s national candidates get. So on this occasion when you vote, you will influence the appointment. Therefore before voting it is important that you consider what the policies of each group are in the management of Europe.

The intention is that there will be a common European wide campaign with local public debates. So we should all be better informed when we go to the polls.