§ Mr. Charles Irvingasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the cost to the British taxpayer of moving the European Parliament from Luxembourg to Strasbourg; and how many times a year this occurs.
§ Mr. TomlinsonSix sessions of the Parliament are held each year in Strasbourg. I understand that it is difficult to calculate the exact cost falling on the Parliament's budget of moving staff, documents and equipment there. The major costs, per session, have been estimated as:
- (1) Travel costs of officials Belgian Francs (BF) 700,000;
- (2) Subsistence allowance payments BF 5,600,000;
- (3) Transfer of documents and equipment BF 110,000.
The United Kingdom share of the total Community budget in 1977 is 19.24 per cent.