Romanian lawyer ranks first in Belgian party's list for European Parliament race

A Romanian leads the list of candidates for the European Parliament for a political party in Belgium. Cristina Coteanu, a former state secretary at the Ministry of Justice in Romania, is the first on the candidates list for the party Fédéralistes Démocrates Francophones in Belgium. Coteanu was previously among the seven people who run for the judge seat at the European Court of Human Rights, but did not make it among Romania's three nominations. She was an expert of the European Council on judicial reform in Eastern European countries. She currently works as a lawyer for Philippe&Partners law office in Brussels, and holds a PhD in law from the Leiden University. The party she chose to represent in the European Parliament is a small one, without any EMPs at the moment. FDF only has two MPs in Belgium's Parliament. The elections for the European Parliament will take place in May 2014. Elections are held every five years, when voters in each EU country elect their local representatives in the European Parliament. editor@romania-insider.com