A small town in Alsace

Members of the European Parliament, forced to run between Brussels, Strasbourg and their constituencies, are the unheeded conscience of Europe. With monetary union, their role may gain stature - they wish. David Shirreff reports.

Life under the euro

If everything goes according to plan, the tin trunk – big enough to contain a corpse – will carry the Euro-MP’s papers from Brussels to Strasbourg in time to arrive before him.

The exercise of moving the entire caravan of 626 MEPs (members of the European parliament) between the two cities for a week per month of plenary sessions in Strasbourg costs, with luck, only two days’ work – half of two Fridays packing up the trunk, and half of two Mondays unpacking it.

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