Conservative Leader Tells Tony Blair to Pull EuroParliament Out of Strasbourg
Tuesday 16 May 2006
After today becoming the first major UK party leader to sign the 40,000 strong www.oneseat.eu petition aimed at removing the European Parliament from Strasbourg, Timothy Kirkhope MEP, Conservative leader in the European Parliament, urged Tony Blair to convince fellow EU leaders at the June European Council that the Strasbourg circus is a farce that must end.
Mr Kirkhope said:
"If Tony Blair is serious about European reform and accountability, he should sign the petition and persuade EU leaders to end the hugely expensive charade of monthly sessions in Strasbourg.
With the Mayor of Strasbourg today fighting allegations that her city has overcharged the EU £50 million for rent of the Parliament building, keeping a second parliamentary seat effectively means pouring millions of pounds paid by British taxpayers down the plughole.
This nonsense destroys voters' trust in the EU.
Parliament has repeatedly stressed that it has the right to decide where it sits. There is nothing in Strasbourg that we don't already have in Brussels.
Conservative MEPs have been at the forefront of the campaign to reform the EU. British taxpayers expect reform to begin by having one seat only in Brussels."
ENDS
