A tale of two cities

Today I presented the report I produced for the Chairman of the informal cross-party Brussels-Strasbourg Seat Study group, European Parliament (EP) Vice-President Edward McMillan-Scott, on the vexed issue of the Seat of the European Parliament. The European Parliament holds most of its meetings in Brussels, but by a quirk of history it is forced to hold four days of meetings every month in the remote provincial capital city of Alsace, Strasbourg.

The main conclusion of the report? Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) are fed up with the monthly trek to Strasbourg and want to be able to decide for themselves where the EP should meet – a power now reserved for member states under the EU treaty. If given a free choice, a report by Zurich University shows, they would opt for Brussels. Not many MEPs are willing to speak out on the record though – most stick to the code of silence imposed by the two largest political groups.

The story was picked up by news outlets everywhere after a packed news conference in Brussels, including European Voice, the Wall Street Journal, the Parliament Magazine, Le Point, Der Standard, Terra, De Telegraaf, De Morgen.