EU parliament's 'one seat' campaign set to end in failure

A major campaign which calls for an end to the “needless waste” of having two official seats for parliament appears set for failure after failing to receive a minimum number of MEPs’ signatures.

So far, 235 MEPs have signed a written declaration calling for an end to the so-called “travelling circus” between Brussels and Strasbourg.

But this is well short of the 393, or more than half of the assembly’s deputies, that are needed to sign it for it to have a chance of becoming formal EU policy.

The declaration, launched by a cross-party group of MEPs, expires on 15 January and campaigners will make one last attempt to persuade colleagues to sign it during next week’s plenary in Strasbourg.

One MEP, German ALDE member Alexander Alvaro, accused those colleagues who privately endorse the one-seat campaign but have yet to sign the declaration of “hypocrisy”. “They should stand up and be counted,” he said.

Belgian ALDE MEP Frédérique Ries said, “This is a crucial week because we have only one more plenary session – the best opportunity to promote the campaign – before the declaration lapses.”

German Green MEP Helga Trüpel said it was “very disappointing” that more MEPs had not yet signed the declaration.

British Socialist MEP Catherine Stihler also called on MEPs to make time to sign it. “Strasbourg is a beautiful Alsatian town, but the monthly commute blights the lives of MEPs and their staff,” she said.

In September, Dods EU Polling conducted a survey of MEPs and stakeholders, which found that most people think European deputies should decide on the fate of the parliament’s two seats.

Stihler said, “The results [of the poll] are clear: MEPs overwhelmingly agree that the European parliament should be given the right to decide where the parliament sits. Stakeholders also agreed. An overall majority of MEPs and stakeholders also support having one seat for the European parliament and being based in Brussels.”

Finnish EPP-ED member Piia-Noora Kauppi said she understood that perhaps some MEPs may incorrectly believe that the attempt to bring an end to the two-seat arrangement was a lost cause.

“I know that some MEPs think that it’s a hopeless issue, but it’s a wrong assumption to say that it’s hopeless,” she said.

Critics say moving 785 MEPs and their staff between Brussels and Strasbourg each month is expensive and bad for the environment.

The annual cost of shuttling between the two cities is estimated at €203m and the Green party says it produces about 20,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually.

However, supporters of the Strasbourg base say the city is symbolically important, sitting on the border of former European foes, France and Germany.

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