President Traian Basescu approved on Tuesday the new law for the organization of European Parliament elections in Romania at the end of seemingly neverending talks over the bill in the Romanian Parliament. The law says the country’s representatives to the EP will be elected in closed-list, independent candicacy-based polls and the new MEPs will have five-year terms.
The lists of candidates submitted by political groups must each be supported by 200,000 voters or more, while independent candidates may run individually if supported by at least 100,000 voters.
The law also says that EP membership is incompatible with Romanian Parliament or Romanian Government membership.
The bill was adopted by the Romanian House of Deputies on December 20 after being rejected in the Senate.
Once the law is published in the Official Gazette Romania is expected to organize elections for the European Parliament on May 13, 2007 but the date is subject to Government approval.
