Weg met Straatsburg!

Met dank overgenomen van Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie (VVD) i, gepubliceerd op dinsdag 10 maart 2009.

Gisteravond heeft Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert de hyve "Weg met Straatsburg!" in het leven geroepen (http://weg-met-straatsburg.hyves.net). Bovendien heeft zij zojuist een brief gestuurd aan de Franse president Sarkozy om hem om opheldering te vragen over het maandelijkse verhuiscircus.

Hieronder vindt u de tekst van de brief aan president Sarkozy:

President Sarkozy Palais de l'Elysée 55, rue du faubourg Saint-Honoré 75008 Paris

Strasbourg , 10 March 2009

Dear Mr. President,

One question is coming back over and over again ? why does the European Parliament commute between Brussels and Strasbourg every month? Everybody, everywhere, no matter how little they know about the European Union and its institutions, knows about the two seats.

Clearly, the well-known Strasbourg circus is a persistent source of irritation for many people in Europe . It is considered to be a bottomless pit of money. The fact is that the Strasbourg seat is a major bone of contention, not only among the people of Europe but also among most Members of the European Parliament. Many Members of Parliament are therefore conducting an ongoing campaign to keep the issue of having two seats on the agenda. Ironically however, the European Parliament cannot decide for itself where it should meet and how it organises its work in practice.

As elections are coming up, I would be very grateful if you could tell me how I should deal with this issue. How is the Strasbourg seat to be justified to European tax-payers? Would France be willing to take on payment of the costs of the Strasbourg seat itself? Would you agree that, by ignoring the enormous dissatisfaction which exists regarding the Strasbourg seat, the EU is squandering a unique opportunity to burnish the image of the EU in at least 26 out of 27 Member States? How is the EU to maintain the confidence of the hundreds of millions it represents, if it cannot adopt a single seat for Parliament?

Your input is highly appreciated and I do look forward to having a constructive dialogue on this matter.

Yours sincerely,

Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert

Member of the European Parliament

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