Brussels, Luxembourg and Strasbourg. Three cities host the European Parliament, its MEPs and its administrative center.
Initially located in France, European parliamentarians gain political weight over the course of the treaties.
They end up returning to settle part of the time in the Belgian capital to better negotiate legislative texts with the Commission and the Member States.
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In 1952, six states founded the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC). They choose Luxembourg as the workplace for the “high authority” as well as the general secretariat of the “common assembly”.
But the Luxembourg capital turns out to be too small to accommodate the parliamentarians. To find a sufficiently large hemicycle, the Common Assembly turned to the Council of Europe in Strasbourg. The first European Parliamentary Assembly, the embryo of the current European Parliament with a consultative function at the time, held its first session in Strasbourg in March 1958.
Distribution in treaties
In 1997, the signing of the Treaty of Amsterdam ratified the geographical distribution of the institutions. Two years later, MEPs moved into the brand new facilities of the Louise-Weiss building, located on the banks of the Rhine.
The powers of the European Parliament are expanding over time. Elected by direct universal suffrage from 1979, co-legislators since the Treaty of Lisbon, MEPs vote on the budget of the European Union and can issue a motion of censure to overthrow the European Commission.
Problem is, to negotiate with European commissioners and emissaries from member states, we need to establish closer ties with other institutions based in Brussels. At the end of the 1980s, the Belgian federal government inaugurated the Espace Léopold (the name given to the European Parliament buildings located in the institutions district). MEPs now go there to work in committee, meet in political groups or organize “mini-plenaries” organized annually.
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European Parliament: should the Strasbourg seat be abandoned?
Towards a single seat?
However, the seat of Parliament in Strasbourg appears in the European treaties. It imposes “the holding of twelve plenary sessions in Alsace”. Every month, MEPs travel with their equipment and team to sit for four days. For its part, the administration of the European Parliament continues to sit in Luxembourg, in the Konrad Adenauer building. Since the Covid19 pandemic, a majority of MEPs would be in favor of a single seat in Brussels. Among the motivations put forward: the reduction in operating costs, the reduction of the carbon footprint represented by the monthly move or even the difficulties of getting to Strasbourg by transport.
Are we nevertheless moving towards a change in the status of the seat of the European Parliament? It requires unanimous agreement from the 27 member states. However, France is opposed to it for economic and political reasons.
