"Knife-attack" on two seat parliament

Libya is burning on the EU's doorstep.

The dangers of the sovereign debt crisis still loom large over the eurozone - Portugal is likely to need a bail-out soon.

EU member states are working out how best to help Japan deal with the aftermath of the worst earthquake in the country's history.

Meanwhile, trust in the EU is at an all time low in many countries across Europe.

Mundane issues such as these should not, of course, distract from the really important issue - maintaining MEPs' €180 million/20,000 CO2 a year Strasbourg seat (in addition to their ordinary seat in Brussels and their secretariat in Luxembourg).

At least, that's how France sees it. The French government has said it will challenge the decision at the ECJ, taken by a majority of MEPs to scrap one - we repeat just one - of Strasbourg's annual sessions (the EP holds two plenary sessions in the autumn to compensate for MEPs' extended holiday season.)

The French Europe Minister Laurent Wauquiez explains why:

"The parliament building in Strasbourg is the symbol of a Europe closer to citizens, a Europe that is proud of its symbols. The government will not accept the knife-attack on the contract which is in the treaties."

Well of course. Now it all makes sense.

A Royal Extravagance

Spot the odd one out…

• Buckingham Palace in London
  
• Palacio Real de Madrid, Spain
• Stockholms slott, Sweden, and
• The Louise Weiss building in Strasbourg, France.

We’re guessing that most people will not ever have heard of the last one. It’s in fact, the infamous seat of the European Parliament in Strasbourg – better known as the reason for the European Parliament’s utterly ridiculous ‘travelling circus’.

The European Parliament's 216-mile monthly trek to Strasbourg beggars belief. But no matter how many citizens, MEPs or even EU officials complain, the out-of-touch people at the very top refuse to bow their heads to listen.

In an interview with Euractiv, European Parliament President Jerzy Buzek got the chance to explain why he defends the Strasbourg seat.

Strasbourg is a symbolic place. Symbols are important

€200 million a year is an expensive symbol, but Buzek sticks to his guns:

We can also ask whether for some member states it is right to keep a monarchy. But for these countries that has an historical meaning and it is still an important part of public life and interest

Right...Perhaps that explains the European Parliament’s, at times, interesting take on democracy (i.e. voting to ignore the outcome of the Irish referendum on the Lisbon Treaty). He continues,

So, why would we eliminate Strasbourg? It is the very symbolic place of the European Union. It is indeed very important as it represents the essence of our main value: solidarity

Apart from the bizarre parallel that Buzek is trying to draw between Europe's monarchies and the two-seat European Parliament, what kind of 'solidarity' is he talking about? And with who exactly? Scrapping Strasbourg would save over €200 million a year and 20,268 tonnes of CO2 emissions, so he certainly can't be referring to solidarity with taxpayers or the environment (but who cares, eh?)

What's next, horse drawn carriages for Buzek and his mates and a regal eurocrat wedding?

MEPs should vote for common sense

Conservative MEP Ashley Fox may have thought of a practical plan to reduce some of the ridiculous cost of the European Parliament's travelling circus from Brussels to Strasbourg each month.

There have been many previous attempts to abolish this hugely wasteful-PR-disaster-of-a-practice before (it even made it into the Con-Lib Coalition Agreement). But, alas, it is written in the EU treaties that the EP will have its plenary sessions in Strasbourg - which would only change over Sarkozy's (or any other French President's) dead body.

It is estimated that the exercise costs taxpayers around €200m a year and produces at least an extra 20,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide every year.

But, unlike previous efforts, Fox's plan may actually work. Fox wants to combine the two Strasbourg plenary sessions scheduled for September 2012 into one, which he says, "could save €15m and prevent 1600 tonnes of CO2 being needlessly wasted."

The EU treaties say that:

The European Parliament shall have its seat in Strasbourg where the 12 periods of monthly plenary sessions, including the budget session, shall be held. The periods of additional plenary sessions shall be held in Brussels. The committees of the European Parliament shall meet in Brussels. The General Secretariat of the European Parliament and its departments shall remain in Luxembourg.

Combining, rather than scrapping, the extra plenary session wouldn't break the rule of having "12 monthly" sessions in Strasbourg.

So far, 180 MEPs have signed his declaration which would require a simple majority of those present in the parliamentary chamber to be successful.

This would only be a small victory for common sense but it would send an important message and show that many MEPs find the practice as absurd as the rest of us.