Bulgaria Gets 1 Extra MEP, Sends Die-Hard Right-Winger

European Union member states are expected to hold an intergovernmental conference on Wednesday to alter the Lisbon treaty and add 18 extra members to the European Parliament, including one Bulgarian.

The move comes more than a month after the European Parliament voted to allow 18 new Members to take their seats during the current legislature.

Bulgaria’s new MEP will be Svetoslav Malinov from the rightist Democrats for Strong Bulgaria party of former Prime Minister Ivan Kostov. Malinov was next in line after the 17 Bulgarian MEPs that made it to the EP. As Malinov becomes the new Bulgarian MEP, this means one extra deputy for the European People’s Party from Bulgaria.

The number of Members needs to be increased because the last European Parliament elections were held under the rules of the Nice Treaty, which sets the number of MEPs at 736, while the new Lisbon Treaty, which entered into force on 1st December 2009, provides for 751 seats.

The allocation of new seats was decided during the Lisbon Treaty negotiations. Twelve countries will be sending extra MEPs to Brussels and Strasbourg: Spain will get four new seats, Austria, France and Sweden will send two, while Bulgaria, Italy, Latvia, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovenia and the United Kingdom will each get one extra Member.

The only country to have fewer MEPs under the new treaty is Germany, which loses three seats, from 99 to 96. However, as all 99 current German Members will keep their seats until the end of this term, the number of MEPs will temporarily rise to 754. For this to be possible, a treaty change is necessary.

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