Brussels, 08/10/2015 (Agence Europe) - In a letter dated Monday 5 October, sixteen MEPs asked the president of the European Parliament to make greater use of the headquarters in Strasbourg when the Brussels headquarters are renovated. Some media companies say that one of the buildings in Brussels may be renovated to provide extra office space.
If large-scale renovation is to be carried out in Brussels over the next few years, we propose that you transfer all of our plenary work to Strasbourg in order to optimise the use of existing premises by scrapping the additional sittings in Brussels and restoring the Friday sitting in Strasbourg, write the MEPs from France, Germany, Luxembourg, Slovakia, Romania and Poland, mostly members of the EPP along with one French S&D MEP and one French ALDE MEP.
The MEPs are all members of the Pierre Pflimlin Group that promotes the European Parliament headquarters in Strasbourg. They also suggest transfering to the Alsatian capital a number of administrative and secretariat posts that are not essential to EP committee work. This, they explain, would cut the cost of the planned renovation work in Brussels, make use of space available in Strasbourg and maintain a balance between the various European Parliament workplaces.
On 7 October, the European Parliament adopted its calendar for 2017 foreseeing five sittings in Brussels in addition to the sittings in Strasbourg. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)