26/04/2010 (Agence Europe) - The town of Strasbourg is flaunting its European ambitions. With the presentation, on Wednesday 21 April, of the town's “European and international strategic guidelines”, the mayor of the town, Roland Ries, above all reiterated his will to “enhance Strasbourg's position as a political and democratic capital of Europe”. The idea is an ambitious one, even if one only looks at the European Parliament aspect. By stating his wish to get beyond the quarrel about where the seat of the European Parliament should be, the mayor takes a stance in favour of a greater EP presence in Strasbourg. The text forwarded to the press states that the town's ambition is to open debate on locating all European Parliament services in Strasbourg, on behalf of building a balanced and polycentric Community area. This approach does not seek to repatriate the EP secretariat which is located in Luxembourg but rather to ensure that parliamentary committees, which currently hold their meetings in Brussels, convene in Strasbourg. (A.B./transl.jl)