 In the elections of 2004, Silaghi was elected to the Chamber of Deputies for Satu Mare County, sitting on the Committee for Budget, Finance and Banks (until September 2005), the Committee for Information Technology and Communications (after September 2005), and the Committee for Industries and Services (after February 2007).He became an observer to the European Parliament in September 2005.On January 1, 2007, he became a Member of the European Parliament for the PNL, part of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe, with the accession of Romania to the European Union, before being nominated for a ministerial position in early 2007.