How
Strasbourg site became permanent
By
Philip Bushill-Matthews
Published:
June
2 2006 03:00 | Last updated: June 2 2006 03:00
From Philip Bushill-Matthews MEP.
Sir, The statement that it "was John Major who presided over a deal at the 1992 Edinburgh summit which enshrined Strasbourg's role as the seat of the European parliament" is misleading ("Austria stifles debate on EU parliament", May 25).
The agreement at Edinburgh was for a trial period of five years only, in return for which Mr Major secured the reward of an opt-out from the single currency and the social chapter.
It was Tony Blair who turned the Strasbourg trial period into a permanent commitment in the treaty of Amsterdam in 1997. His reward was the Charlemagne prize for being a good European.
Philip Bushill-Matthews,
Conservative Spokesman for Employment and Social Affairs,
European Parliament (preferably just in Brussels)
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/0a42732e-f1d5-11da-940b-0000779e2340.html