Given that MEPs spend much of their time working in Brussels and Strasbourg, they don't always make the headlines at home.

Sinn Féin was today preparing to capture its first-ever European Parliament seat in Northern Ireland.

The European Union’s massive democratic exercise of electing its new parliament was marked by widespread apathy and protest votes as citizens of the 25 EU nations punished their governments for everything from high unemployment to involvement in Iraq.

British Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott launched the European election campaign today with a rousing call on voters to back “justice, freedom and equality”.