Strasbourg, 21/04/2004 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday in Strasbourg the European Parliament adopted its calendar for its plenary sessions in 2005. This will consist of 12 three and a half day sessions (Monday to Thursday) in Strasbourg and 6 two and a half day sessions (Wednesday and Thursday) in Brussels:
10-13 January;
26/27 January;
21-24 February;
from 7-10 March;
from 11-14 April;
27/28 April;
from 9-12 May;
25/26 May;
from 6-9 June;
22/23 June;
from 4-7 July;
from 5-8 September;
from 26-29 September;
12/13 October;
from 24/27 October;
from 14/17 November;
30 November and 1 December;
from 12-15 December.
Parliament scrupulously followed the proposal of its Conference of Presidents from the political groups. It rejected by 212 votes for, 307 against and 23 abstentions, the amendment by the EPP-ED group, which aimed to re-establish the Friday Strasbourg session.
In a press conference, the president of the German group, Hans-Gert Pöttering explained that his group wanted to guarantee the effectiveness of the European Parliament whose work would become harder given the arrival of the additional members with enlargement and the increased responsibility once the constitutional treated entered into force. He accompanied these explanations with an appeal "out of sympathy" for Strasbourg but also for respect of the obligation set by the treaty on where parliament was seated, as well as the fact that "France had the right to be host to an important institution". (On the subject of parliament see ideas of Dutch Socialist Michiel van Heuten p 14).