Conservatives push for the slow death of the Strasbourg circus
Posted, May 21, 2008 @ 00:00
The campaign to end the European Parliament's monthly commute from Brussels to Strasbourg received a boost today as up to one-third of MEPs voted in favour of proposals sponsored by the Conservatives and the Campaign for Parliamentary Reform (CPR) to reduce the time spent in the French city.
Although the proposals did not pass, Conservative leader in the European Parliament, Giles Chichester MEP, welcomed the increased numbers of MEPs who voted for the changes. He said:
"We are making small but significant steps to end the Strasbourg circus. Year after year, MEPs are voting in increasing numbers to end this costly and environmentally wasteful anachronism.
"£170 million per year is spent on hauling 3000 people and their papers from Brussels to Strasbourg and back. It will have to stop one day. Today's vote suggests the momentum is with us. After all, if Rome wasn't built in a day, Strasbourg as a second seat cannot be stopped in a day."