Strasbourg Parliament hails ‘safest ceiling in the world’

MEPs will be able to resume sessions in Strasbourg by 22 September as the ceiling of the European Parliament’s plenary building in Strasbourg is now “completely repaired” and “probably the safest ceiling in the world,” a European Parliament spokesperson told EURACTIV.

All that is required now is the green light from a French security commission specialised in ensuring construction work is in accordance with French law. But the repairs themselves are practically over, the spokesperson said. On 7 August, a 200-square metre section of the ceiling of the Strasbourg hemicycle fell through. Luckily, this happened during recess and no one was injured. The next EP plenary session, scheduled to begin on 1 September, has subsequently been moved to Brussels. 

According to the EU treaties, the European Parliament must meet 12 times a year in Strasbourg. As the rest of the sessions take place in Brussels, this results in a constant shuffle between France and Belgium. The fallen ceiling gave fresh impetus to those who oppose the current system of splitting the Parliament’s work between the two cities. The effort of moving people and papers between two locations costs European taxpayers 200 million euros a year. 

Labour MEP Gary Titley said: “It is time that this monthly charade, which is expensive both in terms of travel costs as well as damage to the environment, should be reviewed and stopped.” 

But the repair work has been carried out very quickly, meaning Strasbourg will only have to miss one of its twelve sessions. The spokesperson also conceded that the work was “not cheap”, although figures have not yet been made available to the public. The repairs involved the replacement of the suspension system of the lower ceiling, or faux plafond, which was identified as the main cause of the collapse. The entire ceiling’s suspension has been replaced, not just that of the damaged section, the spokesperson explained. 

But despite the spiralling cost of Strasbourg, there is little chance that the current system will be modified. The EU treaty considers Strasbourg to be the main seat of the European Parliament. The decision was made to highlight the reconciliation of France and Germany by assigning the city – the main centre of the once-disputed territory of Alsace – a major role as host of a European institution. 

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