Strasbourg, 12/06/2002 (Agence Europe) - The European Parliament will be meeting twelve times in Strasbourg next year and six times in Brussels. This was the decision reached by the plenary that once more chose to amputate the periods of sessions in Strasbourg by doing away with the sittings scheduled for Friday morning in the draft timetable proposed by the Conference of Presidents.
The dates of the periods of sessions in 2003 are: - from 13 to 16 January in Strasbourg; - 29 to 30 January in Brussels; - from 10 to 13 February in Strasbourg; - from 10 to 13 March in Strasbourg; - 26-27 March in Brussels; - 7 to 10 April in Strasbourg; - 12 to 15 May in Strasbourg; - 2 to 5 June in Strasbourg; - 18 to 19 June in Brussels; - 30 June to 3 July in Strasbourg; - 1 to 4 September in Strasbourg; - 22 to 25 September in Strasbourg; - 8 to 9 October in Brussels; - 20 to 23 October in Strasbourg; - 5 and 6 November in Brussels; - 17 to 20 November in Strasbourg; - 3 and 4 December in Brussels; - and 15 to 18 December in Strasbourg.
Just before voting, French Socialist Pervenche Beres strongly protested against the request made by Dutch Socialist Michiel van Hulten and other MEPs with a view to proceeding to a secret vote on amendments concerning the suppression of the Monday session in Strasbourg and the addition of 22 one-day sessions, on Wednesday. Ms Berès mainly reproached those who called for a secret ballot with usually presenting themselves as the defenders of transparency. Mr van Hulten explained that this request aimed at allow MEPs to vote as their conscience dictates and President Cox simply noted that the request, signed by 135 MEPs, was admissible. Those signing include Mr van Hulten, the elected members of the Lista Bonino, British Labour members, like EP Vice-President David Martin, Conservatives like Lord Bethell (who voted against the suppression of the Friday sitting in Strasbourg), Belgian nationals like Socialist Anne van Lancker, Greens like Luxembourg national Claude Turmes and even French national Alima Boumedienne-Thjery, the Danish president of the EDD Group, Jens-Peter Bonde, and Liberals like British Andrew Duff. The secret ballot did not, however, allow Mr van Hulten to obtain a majority. He only won 173 votes for suppression of Monday sittings in Strasbourg. Three hundred and fifty-seven MEPs voted against and 24 abstained. The addition of Wednesday sessions was slightly more successful (209 votes in favour) but did not however gain majority (325 against and 20 abstentions). With 331 votes to 204 and 16 abstentions, the Parliament did, on the other hand, abolish Friday sittings in Strasbourg, as proposed by the Liberal Group and the group of MEPs gathered by Mr van Hulten. The analysis of this vote, conducted by call of the House, confirms the traditional divide between those defending Strasbourg and a session covering the whole week, among whom we find most French, German, Luxembourg and Greece MEPs, on one hand, and, on the other, the Members of Parliament who for many reasons prefer Brussels. However, this vote also shows a certain crumbling of national positions and seems far more marked by a range of various motivations, including no doubt justifications linked to the effectiveness of the Parliament's work, or those put forward by some on the need to bring the three main institutions into a single place, or then again by others for whom there is a need for decentralisation, but also for reasons of personal convenience. It should be noted that three French nationals, Geneviève Fraisse (GUE) and Greens Alima Boumediene-Thiery and Didier Rod, voted for the suppression of Friday sittings in Strasbourg, whereas the members of the extreme left, Armonia Bordes, Chantal Cauquil, Alain Kirvine and Roseline Vachetta, abstained, as did the president of the Socialist Group, Spanish Enrique Baron. The president of the EPP-ED Group, Hans-Gert Pöttering (CDU), and that of the GUE/NGL Group, French Communist Franics Wurtz, voted, however, against abolishing Friday sittings. British president of the ELDR Grop, Graham Watson, and President Pat Cox, voted for Friday sittings not to be held. Several Belgians also voted for keeping the Friday session in Strasbourg: Gérard Deprez (MCC), jFrank Vanhecke (Vlams Blok), Jean-Maurice Dehousse (PS), Véronique De Keyser (PS), Monica Frassoni (ecologists), Pierre Jonckheer (ecologist) and Paul Lannoye.