Campaign for Parliament Reform headed for the finish-line - 50 000 more signatures

Pressrelease from CPR in the European Parliament 2006-09-07

This week, the vice-president of the Commission Margot Wallström echoed what many European citizens think. Vice-president Wallström, who is responsible for institutional relations and communication strategy, openly criticised the European Parliament's monthly travelling circus between Brussels and Strasbourg. The "Guardian" quoted the vice-president in its edition of 5 September: Something (Strasbourg) that was once a very positive symbol of the European Union, reuniting France and Germany, has now become a negative symbol - of wasting money, bureaucracy and the insanity of the Brussels institutions.

"Mrs Wallström has hit the nail on the head", says MEP Alexander ALVARO, who chairs the Campaign for Parliament Reform. "The biggest travelling circus in Europe devours a minimum of 200 000 Million Euros annually. We are wasting the money of the European tax payer for no good reason. This legislature alone will amount to more than a billion Euros spent on holding on to a relic of European politics. "

This is why, together with the members of the Campaign for Parliament Reform, the Liberal German MEP is supporting the site www.oneseat.eu. Here the opponents of the two working places of the European Parliament have been collecting signatures in order to end the European travelling circus.

"It is our goal to collect the signatures of one million European citizens to get the Commission to act upon the request of this first ever European citizens' initiative. The support of one million citizens is a signal the European institutions cannot afford to ignore. At this stage we have collected 950 000 signatures from citizens all over the EU - 50 000 are still needed to get the ball rolling in Brussels. We are approaching the finish-line. We want these signatures, we need these signatures and we call on the people to sign up on www.oneseat.eu ", says ALVARO.

Cecilia Malmström, the Swedish MEP who initiated the oneseat campaign says: "We are now approaching one million signatures from all countries in the EU in the first citizen initiative ever. The commission and council cannot ignore this strong call for change. They have called for the citizens to make their opinions heard -and here is one strong  voice."

"The suppression of monthly Strasbourg sessions is not a question of convenience to the Members of the European Parliament, but rather a question of efficiency of European decision-making. And I see no harm in saving more than 200 million euros of tax-payers' money on the way", says Finnish MEP Piia-Noora Kauppi.

Friederique Ries, CPR campaigner and MEP from Belgium, calls for more awareness on the full extent of the cost: "This monthly trip is not only expensive, it is also a cost in terms of energy, time and thus efficiency."

Scottish member Catherine Stihler says: "It is more important than ever for the European Parliament to work efficiently and effectively. Organising the monthly trek is already difficult enough and with two more countries joining the EU in 2007, we need to sort the question of the Parliament's seat once and for all."

 "We are thrilled by the overwhelming positive response from citizens across Europe to the oneseat.eu initiative. In an unprecedented way, Europeans are calling for practical institutional reform at the European level. They understand that when the European Parliament's travelling circus finally ends, the Parliament will be able to use its resources to more efficiently and effectively work on behalf of all Europeans. I look forward to the Commission's response to its citizens' demands," says Cem Özdemir MEP.

"It is absurd that the only directly elected European body does not have the sovereign right to decide where it sits. I feel supported by Commissioners Wallström and Mandelson. I hope however that they will not leave it by empty words, but that they will follow it up with concrete actions. I am glad that the European citizens are calling for an end to this unjustifiable waste of money. They have a right to demand it and they should be heard," appeals MEP Edith Mastenbroek from the Netherlands.

The members of the Campaign for Parliament Reform have also decided to invite the one millionth person to sign up to come to Brussels and explain his or her motivation to the vice-president. "With this initiative, we are also taking the first step toward bridging the gap between citizens and the European institutions", ends ALVARO.