European lawmakers are planning to return to Strasbourg for their June plenary session as the coronavirus situation improves, the European Parliament’s press office said on Wednesday.
It will be the first session held in the eastern French city in more than a year, with previous meetings held remotely because of the dangers posed by traveling during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The June session is expected to take place in a hybrid format.
European Parliament deputy spokesperson Delphine Colard said however that the return to Strasbourg remains conditional on the health situation.
A previous attempt to bring back EU lawmakers to the French city in September 2020 was cancelled a week before as COVID-19 cases were rising again in France.
According to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), France currently has a higher 14-day incidence rate than Belgium at 414.5 cases vs 354.1 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.
Staff and legislators mostly have their parliamentary base in Brussels but almost all plenary sessions need to be held 450 kilometres away in Strasbourg as foreseen in EU treaties.
The practice is not without critics who argue that the annual €114 million price tag is a waste of money.
