Euro-MP: "Scrap Strasbourg - Stop Wasting Our Money"

4.19.31pm BST (GMT +0100) Tue 16th May 2006

Liz Lynne, Lib Dem MEP for the West Midlands, has joined MEPs from all over Europe in supporting a petition to end the European Parliament's costly monthly trips to Strasbourg.

The Campaign for Parliamentary Reform, a cross-party group of British, German and Scandinavian MEP's, hope to collect one million signatures for its "one seat" petition before it is given to the European Commission. It calls for MEPs to do all of their work in Brussels instead of being forced to travel to Strasbourg for full sessions of the parliament.

Liz Lynne, Liberal Democrat MEP and member of the Campaign for Parliamentary Reform, said;

"It is completely absurd that all 732 MEPs, with staff and trunks full of files have to make the monthly trip from Brussels to Strasbourg. Not only is it a total waste of taxpayers' money, but the travelling involved causes large amounts of unnecessary carbon emissions. European institutions have to start setting a better example."

"The Strasbourg buck stops with national governments. They bear ultimate responsibility for this needless cost and waste. I hope at the June Summit they find an amicable way to end the Brussels-Strasbourg circus."

ENDS

Notes

• For further information and to sign up please go to www.oneseat.eu

• The 500 mile round-trip journey represents a huge cost to the European taxpayer. Twelve times a year, 732 MEPs with 2000 assistants and many hundreds more parliamentary staff take to the road from Brussels to Strasbourg. They are followed by huge lorries that carry 3500 trunks packed full of folders and papers necessary for a week's work. The costs total more than 200 million Euros per year.

• European Parliament president Josep Borrell is to ask EU leaders to reconsider the parliament's second seat in Strasbourg at their June summit, after political group leaders in the parliament backed the move.