European Parliament wants to abolish itself
Posted, July 10, 2007 @ 00:00
Conservatives urge Treaty conference to abolish the Strasbourg seat of the European Parliament
Strasbourg: 10th July -- Conservatives will force a vote in the European Parliament on Thursday aimed at re-opening the Inter-Governmental Conference agenda in order to finally deal with the so-called Strasbourg "travelling circus".
One million European citizens have signed a petition calling for the European Parliament to have one seat only in Brussels (www.oneseat.eu). This was a major expression of the will of the people, not only because abolishing the 12 annual trips from Brussels to Strasbourg would save taxpayers about £140 million a year, but also cut 20,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide every year.
However, change can only happen with the consent of all member states as the Strasbourg location is legally enshrined in the Amsterdam Treaty.
Richard Ashworth MEP, Conservative Budget Spokesman, said:
"Even the European Parliament wants now to abolish its expensive and environmentally wasteful monthly commute to Strasbourg. French national grandstanding is hastening climate change and undermining EU efforts to cut CO2 emissions by 20 per cent by 2020, the target adopted in March this year.
"However, this is an issue that can be addressed only by the Intergovernmental Conference. I therefore urge this Parliament to take action on this matter and to raise the subject in advance of the forthcoming Intergovernmental Conference. Surely the time has come for this Parliament to listen to and respond to the concerns and the demands of one million European citizens and to debate this issue properly."