Strasbourg, 20/04/2010 (Agence Europe) - Most political groups at the European Parliament take the view that the disruption of air traffic has had less of an impact than expected on the number of MEPs present in Strasbourg. All, however, support the decision to postpone voting. On Monday 19 April, some 250 MEPs were present as the session opened (a number that is not so unusual), with numbers gradually growing to reach 408 by the evening (out of a total of 736).
Speaking to the press on Tuesday 20 April, Martin Schulz said he expected about 80% of MEPs from the S&D Group to be present (out of a total of 184) during this plenary session. Most British members of the group were unable to attend, their leader said, confirming the attendance of members from practically all the other delegations although the Bulgarian, Romanian and Swedish members were more often prevented from attending due to transport difficulties within their own countries, he said. In the EPP Group, the number of MEPs present on Tuesday was about 170 (out of a total of 265), while those absent are essentially from the south (Greece, Spain and Italy). Nearly half of the 54 MEPs of the ECR Group were in Strasbourg, including many Conservative members, while their Polish counterparts for the most part remained in Poland, not so much because of air traffic disruption but because of the ceremonies paying tribute to the victims of the air crash that killed the Polish president. Among the Greens-EFA, with a total of 55 members, the rate of absence was about 15%, while half of the members of GUE/NGL (35 in all) were in Strasbourg. (A.B./transl.jl)