John Baron MP calls for ending of European Parliament ‘shuttle’

MP signs petition to stop the ‘Strasbourg Circus’

John Baron MP recently signed a petition to end the ‘travelling circus’ which four days every month sees 754 MEPs, over 3,000 staff and 25 truckloads of official papers shuttle between the twin seats of the European Parliament in Brussels and Strasbourg.

This vast and unnecessary move from Belgium to France costs around €200 million each year. This shuttle arrangement is enshrined in EU treaty law, and was initially introduced as a symbol of postwar Franco-German reconciliation.

John said,

“Undoubtedly the founding intentions behind this arrangement were noble, but now make very little sense. The monthly shuttle is unnecessary, disruptive and expensive, and I urge the Government to join the growing numbers of MEPs from across the EU who agree. We should apply pressure on our EU partners to end this dual-seat farce.”

Ends

Word Count: 147

Date: 30^th October 2012

Notes to Editors:

• The petition is online at http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/37529. It is open to all UK residents and closes in August 2013.