BFF-37 EU watchdog rejects complaint about Strasbourg parliament sittings

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HEALTH-VIRUS-EU-PARLIAMENT

EU watchdog rejects complaint about Strasbourg parliament sittings

BRUSSELS, May 5, 2021 (BSS/AFP) – The European Union ombudsman refused Wednesday to take up a complaint against the European Parliament for cancelling sessions at its Strasbourg assembly during the coronavirus pandemic.

Under the EU treaties the parliament’s official seat is in the French city on the border with Germany, but it has another chamber in Brussels and during the health crisis has held its plenary sessions in the Belgian capital.

This has angered France, and regional leaders from Alsace — concerned about Strasbourg’s loss of prestige and income as a host city — wrote to the bloc’s ombudsman, Emily O’Reilly, to complain.

On Wednesday, in a letter seen by AFP, she refused to investigate the complaint against the parliament, noting that the pandemic is a “health crisis without precedent”.

“The European Ombudsman is not in a position to examine the medical data available,” she wrote.

“I can only examine whether the measures taken by the Parliament have manifestly exceeded the limits of its discretion. In this case, I have found no evidence that this is the case.”

The president — or speaker — of the European Parliament, David Sassoli, has insisted he is keen to resume Strasbourg sittings as soon as possible after the epidemic passes.

But he has noted that if the assembly’s members and staff moved en masse from Brussels to France once a month for a week-long session it would complicate social distancing measures.

They might also have to quarantine on their return to the offices in Belgium, disrupting their work.

There has not been a plenary session in Strasbourg since February 2020.

France fears the pandemic cancellations will fuel long-standing pressure to cancel the costly monthly travel altogether and the legislature will remain in Brussels, alongside other main EU institutions.

BSS/AFP/BZC/2002HRS