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This paper examines a new and less discussed aspect of the European elections: their role for the effective political representation of ethnic minorities in Eastern Europe. European integration has had profound implications for establishing a framework of norms for minority rights. Are the European elections also important for the political empowerment of minorities? How have ethnic minority parties fared in the elections? What are the similarities and differences in the patterns of minority political participation and political conflict? .x000d..x000d.The paper examines comparatively two models of minority participation as illustrated in the 2007 European elections in Bulgaria and Romania. Two principal ethnic minority parties are analyzed: the Movement for Rights and Freedoms in Bulgaria and the Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania in Romania. The paper discusses the institutional variables, party-system factors, and socio-cultural cleavages in the context of the EU elections. It finds that although nominally based on different prioritiesâ€"nondiscrimination versus equitable representationâ€"the ethnic minorities in both countries have not been outvoted by the majorities and have established important assets as power brokers. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]