The Parliament is meeting in Strasbourg and I have an evening meeting with the Energy Commissioner, Andris Piebalgs, to talk about carbon capture and storage.
Strasbourg is a good place to meet with European Commissioners. A meeting of 'the college' takes place whenever the Parliament is in session here, and they often have a bit of time on their hands as they wait around to take part in a debate.
His office is five floors above my own, and I am there in 2 minutes. As usual with Commissioner's offices here it is stark, furnished only with a desk, a table and a few chairs. The walls are bare, there is nothing to give it any sense of being 'lived in', it feels unused. Of course, Commissioners just pass through here briefly each month so it would be a waste to spend on furnishing. Even so, it is not what most people would imagine.
People complain about the waste of time and money incurred because the European Parliament meets in two places. If a poll of European Commissioners was conducted I bet a huge majority would vote to say goodbye to Strasbourg.
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1 comment:
Interesting article Chris, but it asks the question: 'Why isn't a vote held on this?
Why don't the European Parliamentarians sit down and discuss what would appear to be a profligate expense that bears no tangible or intangible fruit?
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