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

The Democratic Unionist Party’s Jim Allister is expected to top the poll in the North’s European election.

The counting of votes cast in the European election in Northern Ireland gets underway this morning with the Irish and British government anxiously awaiting the results to assess the impact on efforts to revive devolution.

The British government was today anxiously awaiting the results of Northern Ireland’s European election poll, which will be declared tomorrow, to assess the impact on efforts to revive devolution.

Northern Ireland’s politicians were tonight preparing for a nail-biting European Parliament election count with the Ulster Unionists and the nationalist SDLP expected to fight it out for the final seat.

THE North’s politicians yesterday embarked on a frantic effort to get people out to vote, as polling stations opened for the European Parliament elections.

Northern Ireland’s politicians today embarked on a frantic effort to get people out to vote as polling stations opened for the European Parliament elections.

Voters in Northern Ireland need to think what message it would send out to the rest of the European Union if the North elected Democratic Unionist and Sinn Féin MEPs, John Hume said today.

There is an outside chance that Northern Ireland could return two non unionist MEPs, Sinn Féin claimed tonight.

The Government has failed to make the most of its presidency of the European Union, Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams claimed today.

The competition between Northern Ireland’s four biggest political parties in the European Parliament elections has nothing to do with EU issues, a candidate claimed today.

The European election campaign got into full swing in the North today.

A former leader of the Ulster Farmers Union has announced his intention to contest this June’s European elections in the North as an independent candidate.

A Northern Ireland farmers’ leader was tonight being tipped as a possible agreed candidate in June’s European Parliament election.

Northern Ireland is poised to become the first European region with 100% broadband Internet access for its citizens, the British government announced today.

The British government is to introduce a new system for European farm subsidy payments in Northern Ireland next year, it was annunced today.

Northern Ireland’s hard-pressed farmers are being urged to look to new markets - specifically one worth almost £1.5bn (€2.3bn) a year – supplying Britain's florists.

The results of further laboratory checks which could definitively rule Northern Ireland out as the source of the Foot and Mouth outbreak.