Continuing travelling circus to Strasbourg, plain wrong

Posted by Bronwen Maher on April 19, 2010 at 11:59 AM

Irish Labour MEP Nessa Childers speaking in Brussels before getting a train to Strasbourg has again condemned the waste of taxpayers money in forcing MEPs, parliament staff and journalists to travel to south for this weeks plenary session - "Like many MEPs, I am long on record as being against the practice of having two parliament locations. Of all times, insisting on continuing this circus during a period of unprecedented travel disruption across Europe is plain foolish.

"MEPs from all over Europe must now at huge extra cost to taxpayers pile on to trains, boats and cars to travel to Strasbourg to debate and vote this week while a perfectly good parliament chamber in Brussels lies empty. This nonsense would not be tolerated in industry and it should no longer be tolerated when the use of taxpayers money is concerned.

"I join the dozens of MEPs who have called for this weeks plenary session to be postponed. In the current circumstances, it is simply not possible to have a full debate and a democratic vote on the issues on this weeks agenda. Many MEPs from the regional areas of Europe, including Ireland will not be able to attend and holding important votes could be subject to legal challenges before the European Court of Justice given the clear regional discrimination. At the moment, it seems the plenary may not even have a quorum of 1/3 of members to hold the session.

"The citizens of Europe already do not see sense in making the parliament travel to Strasbourg once per month, given the clear waste of taxpayers money, the increase in carbon emissions and disruption to parliamentary business. But in a week when all trains and ferries across Europe are clogged with desperate citizens trying to get home to see their families, I do not think they would appreciate taxpayer funded MEPs continue this exercise, and travel to Strasbourg. This monthly trip costs over EUR200 million per year and this weeks travel will be far more than a normal month.

"One Swedish colleague for example left central Sweden today by train via Gothenburg, then will then take the overnight 14 hour ferry from there to Germany and then spent up to ten hours in a private car driving across Europe, arriving in Strasbourg late Tuesday evening. This is no way for any person to travel to work, however what angers MEPs is not their own travel but how this monthly circus undermines the credibility of the European Parliament in the eyes of citizens.

"The Member States of the EU, especially France, have always refused review the Treaty arrangements on the Strasbourg seat and to let the parliament choose its own plenary location. Something that was once a very positive symbol of the European Union reuniting France and Germany has now become a negative symbol. We have to explain to citizens why the parliament was placed there and pay respect to that, but also say that times have changed and now this is impractical and too expensive.

Permanent link | Comments (0) |