Fin start petitiebeweging tegen verspilling bij EU (en)

EUOBSERVER / STRASBOURG - The one milionth European citizen to have signed an online petition for the European Parliament to ditch its second home in Strasbourg has called on the EU to stop wasting money on the monthly commute.

Twenty-one year old Juuso Tikkanen from Finland came to Strasbourg on Thursday (26 October) to speak on behalf of the 1,045,000 citizens who have signed the petition, which was originally launched by ex-MEP and Swedish liberal Cecilia Malmstrom.

"I'm just an ordinary citizen and these matters interest me so that we don't spend money on useless things," Mr Tikkanen said on the dual-seat scheme, which costs the EU budget €200 million a year in travel and rent bills.

"I signed because I want the EU to spend my taxes on worthwhile projects," he added.

His brother Olli Tikkanen - who was person number 1,000,001 to sign the register - also said the issue was "important" even though he had not yet decided if parliament should stay in Brussels only or in Strasbourg only.

"At least it should be in one place," he stated.

Member states look the other way

"It is disappointing that neither the Finnish presidency nor the European Commission is present today to hear what citizens have to say to them," German liberal MEP Alexander Alvaro said at a press conference with the two Finnish brothers.

"They have called for the citizens to make their opinions heard - and here is one strong voice," Mr Alvarao said, calling the monthly commute "extremely inefficient."

France - the strongest opponent to the oneseat campaign for fear of losing the Strasbourg arrangement - did send a government official to the press conference, which took place in the controversial Strasbourg building.

"They obviously care enough to send a representative," said UK socialist MEP Richard Corbett.

MEPs supporting the oneseat move are hoping that the petition will lead to further discussions at member state level, especially as Ms Malmstrom recently became Sweden's minister for European affairs while another ex-MEP signatory - Estonian socialist Toomas Hendrik Ilves - has become the president of Estonia.

The Strasbourg seat has been enshrined in the EU treaty since 1992, with any reform requiring unanimous approval of all member states, something France is unlikely to agree to.

World War II symbol

France has an economic and symbolic interest in keeping the parliament on its soil, and even among MEPs themselves there is no unanimous will to put the issue on the agenda.

Strasbourg is for many a historic symbol of peace between Germany and France after World War II.

But Dutch socialist MEP Edith Mastenbroek said that this argument is outdated. "We simply have to recognise that Europe today is not like the Europe just after WWII," she said.

Ms Mastenbroek favours having one parliament seat in Brussels, because "if it would be in Strasbourg, then the European Commission would have to travel back and forth - it wouldn't solve the problem."

The oneseat campaign was launched in May this year and reached the one million mark in September. Communications commissioner Margot Wallstrom has also backed the campaign in her personal blog.