Dispute over low Friday turn-out

Date: 21/03/1996

By Rory Watson

LOW attendance by MEPs on the final day of their monthly Strasbourg plenary sessions has sparked off a new political and financial controversy and threatens to reopen the debate over the institution's permanent home.

Parliamentary political groups will next week consider how to avoid a repetition of last Friday's events, when voting had to be suspended because not enough MEPs were present to provide the necessary quorum. Pressure is also growing for group leaders to examine the wider issues involved at their next meeting on 26 March.

The unexpected turn of events led to allegations of procedural ploys to disrupt parliamentary business and claims that a number of MEPs had left the city once they had secured their per diem allowance.

The dispute erupted after Gaullist MEP Jean-Claude Pasty called for a count to check that there was a quorum while the Parliament was in the middle of approving a resolution expressing concern about the transport by road of radioactive waste and MOX nuclear fuel from the Cadarache plant in France.

His intervention established that fewer than the necessary one-third of the assembly's 626 members were present, forcing the Parliament to suspend votes on a series of resolutions on the plight of Greek Cypriots in Cyprus and human rights violations until its next session in Brussels in a week's time.

Socialist Group leader Pauline Green accused Pasty of opening up a Pandora's box which could see members who would prefer to see Brussels become the Parliament's formal home instead of Strasbourg indulging in copycat tactics at future parliamentary sessions.

“This gives all those opposed to Friday morning meetings of the Parliament in Strasbourg the opportunity to stop all business on every Friday, each month. He really has been very silly. This facility has always existed, but those of us who are serious about our work do not subscribe to such games. I hope this will now end,” said Green.

It is notoriously difficult to ensure sufficient numbers are present in the debating chamber on a Friday morning. Usually political groups turn a blind eye if the threshold is not reached.

But a spokesman for Pasty's Union for Europe group said: “Sometimes it is less important if a quorum does not exist. But we felt it was indecent to vote on an issue of such importance when there were not enough MEPs. Fridays are becoming increasingly complicated. More and more important subjects are being discussed, and fewer and fewer MEPs are present.”

Critics of Pasty's behaviour believe it might yet boomerang on him and undermine France's case for continuing to play host to the Parliament, particularly as so few French MEPs were present last Friday.

“All he has done is postpone a vote for a couple of weeks and it could backfire on him as he has drawn attention to low turnouts on the final day of Strasbourg sessions,” said one senior parliamentary official.

The traditionally low attendance level on Fridays has seen a number of surprising votes as small groups of MEPs ambush their numerically superior, but absent, colleagues and establish parliamentary policy.

Observers note that Spanish MEPs, for instance, remain in Strasbourg for any Friday fisheries debates.

The Parliament's Vice-President and Greek Christian Democrat MEP Georgios Anastassopoulos believes the Friday phenomenon should not be overplayed.

“Friday is a problem, but we should not exaggerate it. Even if only 150 MEPs are present, the overall balance of power between the political groups tends to remain the same in 99&percent; of cases and you get the same result,” he observes.

But Irish Green MEP Patricia McKenna insists the Parliament should draw further lessons from last week's controversy and review its system of members' expenses.

“A lot more people signed their names for their daily allowance than were present,” she said afterwards, voicing the suspicions of those who believe a number of members leave Strasbourg after signing in at the beginning of the day.

Last Friday's register shows that 224 MEPs were present in Strasbourg, but only 179 were in the chamber when Pasty made his complaint. Many MEPs and officials insist, however, that the discrepancy can be explained by members' other responsibilities - meetings with visitors, media interviews, previous appointments or other business.

Critics of the current arrangements for Friday business insist many of the problems which arise could be avoided if better transport connections existed between Strasbourg and other major EU cities.