Travel bookings from Brussels to Strasbourg
Dear European Parliament,
Under the right of access to documents in the EU treaties, as developed in Regulation 1049/2001, I am requesting documents which contain the following information:
According to MARTIN LEON, Head of the Members Travel and Subsistence allowance Unit, DG FINS, three out of four tickets bought by Members are booked via Parliament’s travel agency and are for travel between Brussels and Strasbourg and within the EU.
I am seeking a breakdown of how many bookings and associated costs were made through this service to Strasbourg and within the EU every year since 2014.
Yours faithfully,
Nikolaj Nielsen
EUobserver
Rue Montoyer / Montoyerstraat 18B
1000 Brussels
Belgium
Our reference: A(2019)9394 - Acknowledgment of receipt
Dear Mr Nielsen,
The European Parliament hereby acknowledges receipt of your application
for access to documents, which was registered on 26/07/2019.
All requests for public access to documents are treated in compliance with
Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of 30 May 2001 regarding public access to
European Parliament, Council and Commission documents.
In accordance with the above-mentioned Regulation, your application will
be handled within 15 working days upon registration of your request. The
deadline expires on 19/08/2019.
Your personal data will be processed in accordance with Regulation (EU)
2018/1725 of 23 October 2018 on the protection of natural persons with
regard to the processing of personal data by the Union institutions,
bodies, offices and agencies and on the free movement of such data.
The European Parliament reserves the right to ask for additional
information regarding your identity in order to verify compliance with
Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 and the European Parliament’s implementing
measures.
Your attention is drawn to the fact that you have lodged your application
via the AsktheEU.org website, which is a private website not officially
related to the European Parliament. Therefore, the European Parliament
cannot be held accountable for any technical issues or problems linked to
the use of this system.
Kind regards,
TRANSPARENCY UNIT
European Parliament
Directorate-General for the Presidency
Directorate for Interinstitutional Affairs and Legislative Coordination
[1][European Parliament request email]
[2]www.europarl.europa.eu/RegistreWeb
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[European Parliament request email]
2. http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegistreWeb
Our reference: A(2019)9394
Dear Mr Nielsen,
The deadline for replying to your application concerning public access to
documents registered on 26/07/2019 expires on 19/08/2019.
However, due to the fact that the internal consultation process for the
relevant documents and the fact that the detailed analysis of all legal
aspects linked to the possible disclosure of the relevant documents are
still ongoing, in order to reply to your application Parliament
exceptionally needs to extend the time-limit provided for in Article 7(1)
of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 by a further 15 working days, in
accordance with Article 7(3) of the same regulation. The new deadline
expires on 09/09/2019.
Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience. We thank you for your
understanding.
Kind regards,
TRANSPARENCY UNIT
European Parliament
Directorate-General for the Presidency
Directorate for Interinstitutional Affairs and Legislative Coordination
[1][European Parliament request email]
[2]www.europarl.europa.eu/RegistreWeb
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[European Parliament request email]
2. http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegistreWeb
Dear Mr Nielsen,
In order to assess your request and to reply thereto, and in line with Article 6(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001, Parliament would need you to clarify your below request and in particular the travels on which you seek information.
Does the scope of your request include travels from outside the EU to Strasbourg, or not? And does your request also concern all travels within the EU (which start and end in the EU), or only those travels from anywhere in the EU to Strasbourg?
The running of the time limit to handle your application will be suspended until such time as your application is clarified.
AccessDocs looks forward to reading from you,
Kind regards,
TU
TRANSPARENCY UNIT
European Parliament
Directorate General for the Presidency
Directorate for Inter-Institutional Affairs
and Legislative Coordination
Public Register webpage
[email address]
Dear AccesDocs,
Would be grateful for information concerning travels from anywhere in the EU to Strasbourg as well as travels from outside the EU to Strasbourg.
Yours sincerely,
Nikolaj Nielsen
Our reference: A(2019)9394
Dear Mr Nielsen,
Further to your application seeking public access to Parliament's
documents, Parliament informs you that one document has been identified as
falling within the scope of your application. Parliament hereby grants
access to the document. Please find it attached herewith.
We provide you with some explanations so you can better understand the
tables:
COM = travels to and from Strasbourg booked through Parliament's travel
agency. The amount of all travel expenses, by air, for official meetings
to/from Strasbourg of MEPs, excluding those trips not reserved via
Parliament's travel agency, between 30.06.2014 and 31.12.2018 is EUR
21.865.690,64 EUR. The date of 31.12.2018 was chosen in consideration of
the fact that payment of expenses for the last semester of the last
legislative term are mainly still under process, especially those for July
2019.
Please note that this figure may not be definitive, because Members have
until 30.10.2019 to declare costs incurred during 2018. However, it is
estimated that there should not be a massive difference between this
figure and the final real figure for the whole legislative term, which
will not be available before 30.10.2019.
VIR = travels to and from Strasbourg booked by Members themselves
Trajets = all flight segments (not bookings) taken with the intention to
go to or to leave from the plenary sessions in Strasbourg. This also
includes flights to other airports than Strasbourg airport, such as Basel
or Frankfurt, if the intention of the Member was to reach or to leave the
plenary session in Strasbourg. However, it only concerns travel by air and
it excludes any necessary connecting means of transport such as buses,
trains or taxis to Strasbourg. Also, it is important to note that a
segment of flight is not always equivalent to a booking: sometimes one
segment can constitute in itself a booking, while other times a booking
can be made up of 2 or 3 segments of flights. Parliament does not hold a
breakdown of all bookings to/from Strasbourg.
Moyenne = the average price of a segment of flight
On this basis, Parliament considers your application as handled and the
file closed. Should you have any new requests for specific Parliament
documents, please do not hesitate to come back to us.
Kind regards,
TRANSPARENCY UNIT
European Parliament
Directorate-General for the Presidency
Directorate for Interinstitutional Affairs and Legislative Coordination
[1][European Parliament request email]
[2]www.europarl.europa.eu/RegistreWeb
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[European Parliament request email]
2. http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegistreWeb