Factsheet

The Single Seat campaign is a pro-European, pro-dialogue and pro-democracy group of MEPs committed to having a European Parliament that is more efficient, less costly, less polluting and close to the citizens.

The European Court of Auditors has estimated that having one seat would save taxpayers €114millions annually. €20 million is the European Parliaments value to Strasbourg’s economy each year. The environmental cost is 19 000 tonnesof CO2 each year.317 days a year the Strasbourg buildings are empty, but still heated, air conditioned and lit. On top of that thousands of working hours for members and staff are lost commuting, making the European Parliament less efficient.With its increased powers under the Lisbon Treaty, and growing number of members, the multiple seats are harder to justify.

The objective of the Single Seat campaign is for the EP to choose where and when to meet, based on the Parliaments right under article 48 of the Lisbon Treaty to ask the Council for treaty change.

Highlights previous mandate:

  • 2011-03-11: The 'Calendar' vote. The European Parliament voted by a secret ballot to merge two Strasbourg sessions into a single week in October 2012 and October 2013. France and Luxembourg contested this decision in the European Court of Justice. The court ruled that the decision was contrary to the existing EU treaty, but suggested that the European Parliament should use its new powers to propose treaty change
  • EU budget 2013 and 2014: A large majority of MEP called for a roadmap to a single seat in order to make savings to the EU budget
  • 2013-10-23: Fox-Häfner report on the Location of the Seats of the EU Institutions: following the adoption of Fox-Häfner by 483-141 with 34 abstentions, the parliament for the first time invoked its new powers under Article 48 of the Lisbon Treaty to propose Treaty change:

4. Commits itself, therefore, to initiating an ordinary treaty revision procedure under Article 48 TEU with a view to proposing the changes to Article 341 TFEU and Protocol 6 necessary to allow Parliament to decide on the location of its seat and its internal organisation;

Highlights this mandate:

  • 2014-07-16: Presentation of the opinion poll among citizens in 5 EU countries about their views on the seats of the EP commissioned by the Green group. It showed that a majority of citizens, including in France, are in favour of the Single Seat
  • 2014-10-22: Vote on the General budgetof the European Union 2015. Paragraph 87 on the Single Seat adopted by large majority
  • 2015-01-28: Single Seat event in Brussels, signing of the pledge and presentation of the Court of Auditors report - Analysis of potential savings to the EU budget if the European Parliament centralised its operations
  • 2015-04-29: Vote on the 2013 discharge of the European Parliament.Paragraph 48 on the Single Seat adopted by large majority
  • 2015-10-15: Vote on the General budget of the European Union 2016. Paragraph 77 on the Single Seat adopted by large majority
  • 2016-01-25: Letters sent to heads of stateasking them to open a roadmap within the Council for a Single Seat
  • Summer 2016: Video campaign - Members of the Single Seat campaign recorded videos in their own language gathering support for the Single Seat campaign
  • 2016-10-13: Vote on the General budget of the European Union 2017. Paragraph 99 on the Single Seat adopted by large majority
  • 2016-10-28: Vote on the 2014 discharge of the European Parliament.Paragraph 22 on the Single Seat adopted by large majority
  • 2016-12-20: Vote on Verhofstadt report on possible evolutions of and adjustments to the current institutional set-up of the European Union. Recital AE, paragraph 6, 52-53 adopted by large majority
  • 2017-04-04: Vote on Parliament’s estimates of revenue and expenditure for the financial year 2018.Paragraph 58 on the Single Seat adopted by large majority
  • 2017-04-27: Vote on the De Jong report on the 2015 discharge of the European Parliament.Paragraph 31 on the Single Seat adopted by large majority

31. [...] calls on the Bureau to request the Secretary-General to develop, without delay, a roadmap for a single seat for Parliament; reiterates its call on Parliament and the Council to address, in order to create long-term savings, the need for a roadmap for a single seat, as stated by Parliament in several previous resolutions; believes that the withdrawal of the UK and the need to reallocate the European Agencies which currently have their seats in the UK could provide an excellent opportunity to solve several issues in the same time [...];

  • On-going: Trunk campaign to encourage MEPs to reduce the use of the green Strasbourg trunks
  • On-going: Online Petition on change.org where citizens can support the Single Seat Campaign

The Bureau of the Single Seat campaign consist of Chair Anna Maria Corazza Bildt (EPP, Sweden), and Vice Chairs Pina Picierno (S&D, Italy), Ashley Fox (ECR, UK), Beatriz Becerra (ALDE, Spain), Dennis De Jong (GUE-NGL, Netherlands) and Ulrike Lunacek (Greens-EFA, Austria).

For more information kindly contact and visit singleseat.eu

Please support the Single Seat campaign on:

@SingleSeatEU @SingleSeatEU#SingleSeat