East Midlands MEP Emma McClarkin welcomes cut in EU Parliament trips

East Midlands Conservative MEPs Emma McClarkin and Roger Helmer have today welcomed a vote in the European Parliament that will save EU taxpayers 15 Million Euros and save the environment from 1600 tonnes of needless carbon dioxide.

Proposals put forward by the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) Group to cut down on the number of trips between Brussels and Strasbourg have today been voted through the Parliament.

The ECR had tabled an amendment to the parliament’s calendars of 2012 and 2013 which merge the two sessions in October into one week, thus meaning that MEPs only having to make 11 trips back and forth rather than 12.

Speaking after the vote, Emma said:

“I sincerely hope that this is the first nail in the coffin of the European Parliament’s travelling circus.

“The monthly relocation from Brussels to Strasbourg has become synonymous with waste – both in terms of the 200 million Euros, and the 20,000 tonnes of CO2 emitted.”

Roger added:

“MEPs don’t have the power to decide where the parliament sits but they do have the power to decide how many times the parliament must relocate from one city to the other. The parliament has sent an historic and groundbreaking message that we want this monthly farce to end. We must be heard.

“I have yet to meet a British taxpayer who thinks the two-seat operation of the European Parliament is anything short of farcical.”