EU parliament uproar over removal of anti-Strasbourg poster

Parliament’s bosses have been slammed for allegedly undermining MEPs’ right to lobby for an end to the assembly’s twin-seat arrangement.

The criticism comes after security guards removed a large poster in parliament which members were asked to sign as part of the single-seat campaign.

It was erected last week outside the main debating chamber of the Brussels building but was taken down.

Alexander Alvaro, a German ALDE member, who was one of the members who organised the poster protest, has now written to parliament’s president Hans-Gert Pöttering and its secretary general, Harald Romer, demanding an explanation.

The protest, aimed at promoting a written declaration on the issue, is the latest twist in the ongoing saga surrounding the monthly Strasbourg plenary which is due to resume next month after a temporary halt caused by damage to the building’s main hemicycle.

In his letter, Alvaro, a member of the campaign for parliamentary reform, said, “This poster was removed from its station near the plenary chamber despite written permission to set it up.

“It is an outrage that members’ right to express themselves publicly is being undermined by an administration which is not authorised to take decisions of a political nature.

“My colleagues and I were astonished that someone in parliament’s administration felt it necessary to remove it.

“Contrary to the written permission and without informing members, this poster was taken away.

“This not only undermines members’ right of freedom of expression in promoting a cause they want to bring to the attention of their colleagues but also proves incoherent with regard to other members freely and publicly promoting their written declarations.”

It is not the first time parliament's authorities have been criticised for allegedly trying to suppress opposition from MEPs. In the past, UKIP members have accused parliament of attempting to block their protests in parliament.

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