Europees Parlement houdt aangepaste plenaire vergadering wegens stilgelegd vliegverkeer (en)
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - There will be no voting during the European Parliament's plenary session in Strasbourg this week, with most MEPs not making it to the Alsatian capital as travel chaos caused by the Icelandic volcanic ash continues in Europe.
The trimmed session, finishing a day early and featuring an emergency debate on Tuesday (20 April) on the chaotic transport situation, was announced by parliament president Jerzy Buzek i at the formal opening of the plenary session.
"The European Parliament plenary session is going ahead in Strasbourg. We have decided that due to travel restrictions there will be no votes. MEPs are fully aware of the dramatic consequences of the ash cloud," Mr Buzek told the chamber. Of the 736 MEPs, around 200 were present to hear the announcement.
The parliament's strict rules of procedure meant the formal decision or whether to go ahead with the parliamentary sitting at all had to be taken in Strasbourg and not before.
This caused a slightly mutinous feeling among the MEPs that did make it to Strasbourg. Some questioned the point of going ahead with a vote-free session while others noted that if it had been clear earlier that parliament was to convene, more MEPs might have made it.
The voting was postponed due to fears both that the legal quorum would not be reached (at least a third of MEPs must be present) and the results would be geographically skewed in favour of MEPs living in mainland Europe and relatively close to Strasbourg.
One MEP, reacting to Mr Buzek's praise for the deputies that managed to be in the chamber, said "It is our job, it is really nothing special." He went on to chastise Mr Buzek and the parliament's authorities for not giving out information in a "speedy fashion."
"It would be very helpful for us if we get information about plenary sittings ... earlier than we did it this time because I got the first information on Sunday and it was a bit tricky for me to come here," said Austrian Socialist MEP Joerg Leichtfreid.
MEPs were told on Saturday that a decision would only be made on Monday and would have to be taken in Strasbourg.
Meanwhile, British MEPs complained that postponing the voting for two weeks until 6 May would coincide with the UK elections making it unlikely that any British MEPs would be present. Conservative MEP Charles Tannock asked for the programme to be changed again.
MEPs were due to vote on energy labelling on goods, the 2008 budget and their position on a controversial bank data sharing deal.
In addition, attempts by MEPs - several of whom twittered on the issue - to capitalise on opposition among many in their ranks to having monthly sessions in Strasbourg with suggestions to meet in Brussels this week instead were firmly rebuffed.
"A number of colleagues also suggested that the plenary session be moved from Strasbourg to Brussels but as the airports in both cities remain closed, there was no objective justification for such a last minute change," Mr Buzek wrote in a letter to deputies.