EACH month, Euro-MPs from all 15 EU member states, gather at the European Parliament in the leafy island city of Strasbourg, France, to vote on policies and legislation relating to our everyday lives.

Citizen reporter -- Lori Hudson -- met local Euro-MPs in Strasbourg to ask them what they do in our name on the Continent...

JUST chat to petite Euro-Politico -- Dr Arlene McCarthy -- about any one of the many causes she champions and her fierce intelligence and commitment to the job shines through.

Born in Belfast in 1960, Arlene is Labour European spokeswoman for legal affairs and internal markets as well as sitting as a substitute on the regional policy, transport and tourism committee.

Now based in Manchester, Arlene divides her time between the North West, Brussels and Strasbourg where she is a member of the Party of European Socialists.

Arlene said: "It's often hard going flitting about from one country to the next but you get used to it.

"The work and the results we achieve in both the committee meetings in Brussels and during the parliament sessions make the constant commute worth the hassle.

"Here in Europe we're in a unique position where we can have input from many different nationalities.

"Internationally each of the member states has a little bit of power and influence on the worldwide political stage.

"But when these states find themselves coming up against huge powers like the US, it is much more effective for individual countries to work together with common policies and objectives."

Elected as Euro-MP for the Peak District in 1994 after a spell working as a European affairs expert, Kirklees Metropolitan Borough Council, Arlene became a North West representative in June 1999.

Arlene is an active voice on a multitude of other topics such as fair trade, disabled rights and the controversial issue of cross border transportation of bodies!

Arlene is working closely with party colleagues, such as Glenys Kinnock, on projects relating to day-to-day issues like life and skills training for young people.

She supports Oxfam's 'EU Week of Action' campaign to urge the EU to develop its commitment to fair trade before the World Trade Organisation meeting in Cancun, Mexico.

And happily poses by the charities huge inflatable cow -- which most women would baulk at for fear of imagined comparisons -- in a bid to get the point across.

But one of the issues closest to Arlene's heart is internet regulation.

Arlene said: "So far there is no universal set of regulations monitoring the use and content of the internet.

"The people who post these images and information sources up on the web are very clever and determined to reach as many like-minded people as possible.

"Companies and organisations are able to set up internal regulations but these are often extreme measures which hinder more than they solve.

"This is an issue which affects everybody because, as technology gets more and more sophisticated, the internet is obviously going to evolve and we need to get a handle on the situation before it gets worse."