Groep Europarlementariërs pleit voor hervormingen (en)

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - With a wary eye on looming parliamentary elections in June, some MEPs have signed a pledge committing themselves to reform if they are re-elected.

Kick-started by Dutch socialist MEP Michiel van Hulten, the signatories to the pledge commit themselves to work in favour of the European Parliament scrapping its Strasbourg seat, reforming the MEPs' expenses system and improving accountability in the European Parliament.

With less than two months to go to the European polls, 10-13 June, MEPs are very aware that it is these issues that citizens often throw at them when assessing their performance at the EU level.

The reform promises have been signed by 75 of the European Parliament's 632 MEPs.

Scrapping the Strasbourg seat?

In line with these principles, the European Parliament will on Wednesday (21 April) vote on a report by Mr van Hulten on the 2002 accounts of the European Parliament, known as the discharge procedure, in which there is also a call for the seat in Strasbourg to be dropped.

The Parliament has a seat in Brussels and in Strasbourg and MEPs have long complained about the expense and hassle of travelling between the two cities for plenary week once a month.

A report by the European Parliament's Secretary-General puts the cost of maintaining three places of work - the administrative part of the parliament sits in Luxembourg - at over 200 million per year after enlargement.

But although MEPs may rant and rail at being forced into this 'travelling circus', it is up to EU governments to decide whether the Strasbourg seat should go - and Paris likes having a big EU institution on its soil.

France's right to have the parliament was guaranteed by the EU treaties in 1999 and can only be changed by a unanimous vote.

The deal was made in 1992 when the then UK prime minister, John Major, agreed on the building in exchange for a UK opt-out on the EU's "social chapter".

MEPs will also vote on whether whether to introduce a new system of MEP expenses based on actual costs incurred.