ALDE MEPs and co-chairs of the Single Seat campaign, Alexander Alvaro and Edward McMillan-Scott, have rejected the conclusion reached by the European Court of Justice's (ECJ) top legal adviser (opinion from 6 September) to support the French case and force the European Parliament to continue travelling from Brussels to Strasbourg for its plenary session 12 times a year.
The ALDE MEPs stressed that this was only an advisory opinion but highlighted some specific sections which would allow the ECJ the scope to rule in favour of the Parliament which fought to reduce the number of times it has to travel to Strasbourg by combining two plenary sessions into one single week in October this year and 2013.
Edward McMillan-Scott (Liberal Democrats, UK), a Vice-President of the Parliament, said:
"The most interesting element in this preliminary Opinion from a top EU Court adviser is the clear suggestion that the evolution of the European Parliament’s role and factors such as the cohesion of the calendars must be taken into account. This supports our view that there is no legal impediment to the Court finding that two sessions in a single week simply makes sense. I also welcome his recognition of the strong opposition to the obligation to sit in Strasbourg.
“While we don't agree with the conclusion of the Opinion overall, we recognise – as does the Opinion – that the final ruling will be limited to a relatively narrow legal issue. The fundamental questions associated with the two-seat arrangement remain, including the environmental and budgetary aspects of travelling between Brussels and Strasbourg: the annual additional cost is €180 million and 19,000 tonnes of CO2.
Mr. Alexander Alvaro (FDP, Germany), also a Vice-President of the European Parliament and co-chair of Single Seat, said:
"The Parliament should have the right to decide its own working arrangements. After all, our colleagues in the German Parliament voted to move from Bonn to Berlin. MEPs should be empowered to choose their meeting place and end the 'travelling circus.'”
Note to editors:
Since the Single Seat campaign – led by pro-Europeans – began in 2010, the European Parliament has consistently voted by absolute majorities to stop what is often called its ‘travelling circus’. Most recently, on 4 July MEPs voted 432–218 – nearly a two-to-one majority – for a Single Seat and an open petition has so far received the support of 1.27 million European citizens.
Edward McMillan-Scott and Alexander Alvaro co chair the cross-party Single Seat campaign in the European Parliament.
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