News on 02 January 2001
The decision at the Nice summit to increase the number of
MEPs to 732, instead of 700 as previously agreed, is causing problems
for European Parliament space planners, already struggling to accommodate
the current 626 members.
According to a report in European Voice, neither the assembly's official
home in Strasbourg nor its Brussels buildings, has office space for more
than 700 MEPs and their assistants. Officials say they will now have to
buy or rent new buildings in Brussels, while in Strasbourg - where the
new Parliament building has been open for only 18 months - the extra staff
will have to use outdated offices the current building was designed to
replace.
The 74 extra MEPs originally anticipated would make the Parliament Europe's
biggest elected assembly. There is little space to house these awaited
members and the hundreds of translators needed as the number of official
EU languages doubles. The European Voice says that with no more space
in the Strasbourg building, many will probably be forced to make do with
poorly equipped offices in the Winston Churchill building now being used
by officials. In Brussels, the space shortage is more dire and the Parliament
says it will have no choice but to scramble for buildings to buy or rent
in the city's already overcrowded Union quarter.
www.european-voice.com
