COST ACCOUNTING OF THE EP's PART SESSIONS IN STRASBOURG

12 times a year, the 736 MEPs and well over 3,000 staff and officials make the 850 km round trip. They stay for just 4 days in a building which costs taxpayers across Europe € 457 million and sits unused for more than 300 days of the year. Strasbourg costs € 200 million annually at a time when national governments are making difficult decisions on where to cut budgets,   Once a month 25 trucks leave Brusels to make the return journey to Strasbourg carrying  4000 trunks of office documents for MEPs, officials and interpreters The monthly relocation emits at least 20,000 Tons of CO2 emissions each year (that's a carbon footprint roughly equivalent to more than 13,000 roundtrip flights between London and New York) . In 2009, the cost of a normal part-session in Strasbourg was broken down as follows: Ordinary travel expenses: part-sessions, committees or their delegations, political groups and others: € 1,700,000 Paid overtime: € 130,000 Other staff (replacement of part-session auxiliaries): € 159, 500 Conference interpreters: interpreters and conference technicians: € 2,766,000 Outside services: translation of the Verbatim Report of Proceedings: € 750,000 Rent: Strasbourg: € 4,417 Cleaning and maintenance: Strasbourg € 924,700 Energy Consumption: Strasbourg € 261,900 Security and Surveillance of buildings: Strasbourg € 693,800 Members' Transport to Strasbourg: € 308,000 Transport of Trunks to Strasbourg: € 28,250 Telecommunications: Strasbourg € 37,750 Mission expenses for staff travel between the three places of work: € 1,387,000 Expenditure on publication, information and participation in public events: Publications, information activities, public events: € 25,000 Expenditure on audiovisual information: coproduction and broadcasting of audiovisual programmes: € 260,000 Expenditure on audiovisual information: Internet broadcasting of plenary sittings and meetings: € 271,000   TOTAL PER PART-SESSIONS HELD IN STRASBOURG: € 9,705,317   Of course, if plenary sessions in Strasbourg are replaced by plenary sessions in Brussels, specific costs related to any plenary session and subsistence allowances, travel expenses and related costs for members as well as local assistants would be similar.