THERE are nine Member of European Parliament (MEP) seats up for grabs for the North West in the forthcoming European elections on June 10.

The Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) do not represent constituencies in the same way that Tim Collins represents Westmorland and Lonsdale in the House of Commons. Instead they speak for the whole NW region in the European Parliament in both Brussels and in Strasbourg.

The North West region, from Cheshire to the Scottish border, including Manchester and Liverpool, is represented by nine MEPs. The UK has a total of 78 MEPs out of the 732 for all the 25 EU member states.

UK MEPs are paid £56,358 - the same as a backbench member of the House of Commons. The EU budget for 2004 is 109 billion Euros (approximately £75 billion).

In spite of the significant influence the EU exerts over our lives, and the financial muscle it wields, only 11 million people in the UK (24 per cent of the electorate) voted in the last European Parliament elections in 1999. To put that into perspective, 23 million votes were cast for or against contestants in Channel 4's TV Big Brother show last year.

What does the European Parliament actually do?

l It exercises joint control of the EU's vast budget with the European Commission. The budget is paid for by member states with contributions roughly equivalent to one per cent of their Gross Domestic Product.

l The EP is the only directly elected body of the EU, it shares responsibility for European legislation affecting member states with the Council of the European Union (made up of EU member's government ministers and formerly known as the Council of Ministers).

l It scrutinises the work of the other EU institutions, such as the European Commission, which, with its 16,000 staff, oversees implementation of EU policy in member states and enforces European laws.