By Michelle Fitzpatrick and Bruno Waterfield - 26th April 2006
The European parliament may take legal action against the city of Strasbourg following allegations that the assembly was overcharged €150m in rent over the past 25 years.
Outraged MEPs last night demanded an end to the European parliament’s monthly “travelling circus” to Strasbourg upon learning that the rent prices for the parliament’s buildings may have been inflated.
The Campaign for Parliament Reform (CPR) has called for a Thursday vote on 2004 assembly spending to be postponed until a full inquiry has been held.
CPR president Alexander Alavaro, head of a cross-party group of MEPs pushing for greater efficiency and accountability, demanded that costs be made public.
“As if the monthly travelling circus to Strasbourg weren't costly enough, we now have to worry about how we can justify that the European parliament has been in the dark about whom its paying what all this time,” he said.
“MEPs should not even think to acquire any additional buildings in Strasbourg. Furthermore, all relevant documents pertaining to the cost of the Strasbourg seat should be made public.”
Finnish MEP Piia-Noora Kauppi is asking for legal action against the city should Strasbourg be found to have overcharged.
“The European parliament should make a thorough inquiry to find out as soon as possible if the alleged overcharging by the city of Strasbourg is true,” she saif.
“If this would be the case, the European parliament should immediately consider taking appropriate legal actions against the city of Strasbourg.”
It is thought that prices could have been hiked by ten to 40 per cent since 1979, the buildings in question are the Winston Churchill and the Salvador de Madriaga.
The properties are owned by Dutch pension fund SCI Erasme, which lets them to the city which in turn sublets the building to parliament.
The parliament then pays rent to the Strasbourg local authorities, which appear to have been making a substantial profit.
The scandal of inflated rent prices emerged during negotiations over the purchase of the buildings.
The parliament has already said that the long-planned purchase is now on hold and has also stopped making payments on the €10.5 million annual rent and begun an investigation into how much was overpaid and whether there was fraud involved.
So far, Strasbourg has refused to cooperate with an investigation into the scandal, further infuriating MEPs.
The news has led to a row within parliament, as MEPs wonder aloud if officials knew about the overpayments.
Hans-Peter Martin, an Austrian MEP is calling for an investigation into the €450 million spent in 2004 for the acquisition of new EU buildings in Strasbourg.
“At the time, many experts felt the price was highly inflated. Strasbourg has become a symbol of European waste,” he said.
German MEP Markus Feber, responsible for a report signing off parliament spending in 2004, has released a statement saying it was time for the city of Strasbourg “to lay all its cards the table”.
The MEP also called for the matter to be referred to the European court of auditors and the European anti-fraud office.
MEPs travel to Strasbourg once a month for four days. The annual cost of the relocation from Brussels is almost €290 million.
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