MEPs want to bid Adieu to Strasbourg

An annual saving of €180 million, 317 fewer European officials and a reduction of 19,000 tonnes in CO2 emissions: all this if the European Parliament makes Brussels its sole seat. Right now, 736 MEPs and staff travel the 431 kilometers separating the EU's "capital" and Strasbourg every month to take part in a four-day session there. Although Strasbourg is the official seat of Parliament, members spend most of their time working in Brussels. What’s sure is that this "monthly caravan (...) costs heaps of money and is bad for the environment and the health of MEPs," writes De Standaard, citing a poll released 10 February by one of the Vice-Presidents of the European Parliament, the British Liberal Democrat Edward McMillan-Scott. A full 91 percent of MEPs and their staff interviewed would like to see Brussels become as the only seat of parliament. "The debate is open once more and far from being wrapped up," says the Belgian daily, adding that the Lisbon Treaty has no provisions for allowing members to choose their place of work. Also, influential members like MEP Joseph Daul – President of the EPP group – along with German socialist counterpart Martin Schulz, are, like the French government itself, against abandonning Strasbourg.