By Martin Banks - 14th July 2010
Some MEPs never waste an opportunity to reward themselves with trips to exotic locations like the Seychelles
Sarah Gaskell
The attack comes after it emerged that a 15-strong group of deputies are taking part this week in a meeting in the Seychelles.
Earlier this week, the cross-party group headed off to the idyllic Indian Ocean island for a two-day ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly (JPA) meeting.
The 15 MEPs represent each of the parliament’s political groups and a number of member states, including Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Poland, Ireland, France, Spain, Sweden, Czech Republic and Italy.
The get together comes just a few weeks after parliament's so-called "external parliamentary activities" session, the week when MEPs are given the opportunity to attend such meetings, often in faraway places.
Among those due to attend is Belgian ALDE MEP Louis Michel who, as a former EU humanitarian aid commissioner, was often criticised for his globe-trotting activities.
Michel is co president of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly.
The group will be given two receptions, one hosted by James Michel, president of the Republic of Seychelles, the other by the French Embassy.
According to the agenda, members will discuss the 'fight against piracy' and take part in a 'fisheries workshop.'
During the meeting, which concludes on Thursday, deputies are due to discuss a range of matters, including "peace and security" and the issue of the Chagos Refugees Group.
Families exiled from the Chagos islands in the 1960s and 70s to make way for a US Indian Ocean airbase are campaigning for the right to return to the islands.They claim they were illegally removed by the UK government.
The leader of the Chagos Refugee Group, Olivier Bancoult, is due to speak at the meeting on the status of the Chagos Archipelago
He will also be meeting with some of the MEPs on a one-to-one basis to discuss how the European parliament might be able to pressure the European commission into intervening with the British government on behalf of the Chagossians.
They are said to be keen to see whether the new Conservative-Liberal administration in the UK may be prepared to consider the issue anew.
However, for some the focus has been less on their plight than on the number of MEPs attending the meeting, not least in the last week before parliament breaks for a six-week recess.
One MEP, who did not wish to be named, said, "You have to ask why it is necessary for so many members to be taking part in this event.
"At a time of sweeping cuts in many member states it does not look great, does it."
Criticism has been particularly severe from Open Europe, a UK-based eurosceptic think tank.
Sarah Gaskell, an Open Europe researcher, said, "Some MEPs never waste an opportunity to reward themselves with trips to exotic locations like the Seychelles.
"They would do better to spend a little more time concentrating on the issues their constituents at home face, rather than concerning themselves about when they will be getting an opportunity to top up their tan," she added.
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