By Martin Banks - 2nd February 2012
We will not forget your achievement
Guy Verhofstadt
Tributes have been paid to veteran Liberal MEP Liz Lynne who has stepped down from parliament.
Speaking on Wednesday, ALDE leader Guy Verhofstadt led the tributes to his party colleague, saying she had made an "enormous" contribution to European politics.
He said, "Her contribution has been not just to the EU but to trying to benefit the lives of ordinary people."
He cited her contribution to outlawing discrimination in the workplace on the grounds of age and also in goods and services.
Addressing a special tribute evening, he told her, "We will not forget your achievements and ALDE will do its best to continue the work you have done."
Further tribute came from Liberal deputy Chris Davies who said she was noted for her "fantastic" lawmaking.
In announcing her decision to quit, Lynne told this website before Christmas that she blamed the so-called 'travelling circus' to Strasbourg.
Lynne, a deputy for 12 years, said one of the main reasons for her decision to quit was parliament's "nightmare" split site arrangement which sees it holding monthly sessions in Strasbourg.
She said, "It has become a total nightmare. The whole hassle of it all has got me down."
Verhofstadt, half-joking, told her, "Your decision also means that you will no longer face the terrible travelling to and from Strasbourg."
The MEPs' monthly shuttle run from Brussels to Strasbourg has long been controversial. Critics have dubbed it a "travelling circus".
The total annual cost of the Strasbourg shuttle is estimated to be €203m with the Green Party saying that the monthly trips also produce about 20,268 tonnes of CO2 emissions annually.
Under an EU agreement, MEPs were for years required to hold 12 sessions annually in Strasbourg, but this will be reduced to 11 from next year.
A campaign launched by Lynne's party colleague, Edward McMillan-Scott, has focused attention on the travelling circus.
But French resistance to any change continues to be the biggest obstacle to calls for parliament to have a single seat in Brussels.
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