After the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, it is now the turn of Ireland and the Czech Republic to vote in the European parliamentary elections.

International attention is focussed on Ireland, where a referendum on the Lisbon treaty - the successor to the draft European constitution - will be held later this year. The ballot is nevertheless dominated by national issues, such as the economic crisis which has seriously affected Ireland. And Prime Minister Brian Cowen's conservative party is expected to take a beating. In the Czech Republic, the European elections are being overshadowed by a domestic power struggle triggered by the fall of Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek's cabinet.