§ Lord Tebbitasked Her Majesty's Government:
What is the cost of the new European Parliament building in Brussels, for how many days a year it will be used and whether they regard this as fair value for taxpayers' money.
§ The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Baroness Chalker of Wallasey)The European Parliament's new chamber in Brussels is housed in a building which is part of the Espace Leopold complex, which is not yet completed. In 1992, the European Parliament (EP) signed a contract for a long lease on a complex of three buildings to be constructed, with an option to purchase. The total estimated investment cost under the contract is approximately 1 billion ecu (£755 million), before amortisation. The lease on each building in the complex is to run 27 years from the date of its handover. The annual budget payment for the building containing the new chamber is 13.9 mecu (£10.5 million).
The building is in regular use for office accommodation, committee meetings and other purposes. The new chamber within the building is used for plenary sessions, which are scheduled to take place on 12 days during 1995. Annual EP expenditure on buildings is decided in the context of the annual budget negotiations. The EP must ensure that its expenditure is consistent with the Treaty and the financial regulation.