Lawmakers call for temporary closure of European Parliament in Strasbourg to save energy
BERLIN
German lawmakers are calling for the closure of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, this winter due to Europe’s worsening energy crisis.
“Until spring we should only meet in Brussels,” German CDU MP Peter Liese said in a letter to European Parliament President Roberta Metsola, adding that it would save on heating and energy costs.
Although Brussels, Belgium is the capital of the EU, the European Parliament is headquartered in Strasbourg, near the Franco-German border.
MEPs hold plenary sessions in Strasbourg, while committee meetings, mini-plenaries and day-to-day administration take place in the EU capital, Brussels.
Several German MEPs from various parties told the Bild daily that the energy and money spent on getting to meetings in Strasbourg was inappropriate given the growing energy crisis in Europe.
Liberal FDP MEP Moritz Korner said continuing to meet in Strasbourg would be a “mockery of taxpayers”.
The Parliament building in Strasbourg should be “immediately put into energy hibernation”, he told the daily Bild.
Daniel Freund, MEP for the Greens, also spoke out in favor of closing the parliament in Strasbourg.
The European Parliament should no longer meet in Strasbourg “until the energy crisis is over”, he told the daily.
European lawmakers have long called for an end to the practice of traveling between Strasbourg and Brussels to cut costs and protect the environment, but France opposes it because of the prestige and significant revenue its hotel sector generates when the plenary is in session.
The setup requires EU lawmakers, thousands of their aides and confidential documents to be flown to France once a month for plenary sessions.
According to Michael Jager, secretary general of the European Taxpayers Association, the “traveling circus” between Brussels and Strasbourg is “an ecological and economic disaster”.
He told the daily Bild that the current energy crisis should lead to rethinking decision-makers.
* Agnes Szucs contributed to this report from Brussels
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