BRUSSELS, BELGIUM - European leaders on Sunday stepped up a desperate battle to persuade people to vote for the EU parliament this week, but the campaign has opened up new political divisions across the continent.

With polls indicating a record low turnout for the June 4-7 election, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel issued a joint plea to voters, saying a strong parliament was essential to confront the economic crisis.

The two leaders said they want "a strong Europe that protects" its people and called for "all Europeans to vote" in the statement, published by the Journal du Dimanche newspaper in France and Die Welt am Sonntag in Germany.

A "strong Europe does not necessarily mean more powers for the European Union, even more European legislation or even more financial means," said Merkel and Sarkozy.