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Article updated: 2/6/2013 10:59 AM

Europe’s costly double parliament: a movable beast

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The EU set up two parliaments, one at headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, and the other in Strasbourg, France, so in a whirl of trunks, hundreds of European Union parliamentarians and their staff move across the continent for four days of meetings, at an annual cost of about $1.8 billion.

Associated Press

Workmen load boxes onto a truck outside the European Parliament building, in Brussels on Friday, Feb. 1, 2013, ready for transportation to Strasbourg in France.

Associated Press

Germany's Member of the European Parliament Alexander Alvaro, packs his documents, at the European Parliament building, in Brussels, on Friday, Feb. 1, 2013, ready to move to Strasbourg.

Associated Press

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The EU set up two parliaments, one at headquarters in Brussels, the other in Strasbourg, as part of a complex diplomatic dance in which France and Germany, the chief architects of the European project, were eager to find an emblem for their postwar reconciliation. Critics say that such lofty symbolism is an absurd luxury at a time when austerity measures are threatening pensioners, slashing health budgets and causing unemployment to balloon.
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    • The EU set up two parliaments, one at headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, and the other in Strasbourg, France, so in a whirl of trunks, hundreds of European Union parliamentarians and their staff move across the continent for four days of meetings, at an annual cost of about $1.8 billion.
    • Workmen load boxes onto a truck outside the European Parliament building, in Brussels on Friday, Feb. 1, 2013, ready for transportation to Strasbourg in France.
    • Germany’s Member of the European Parliament Alexander Alvaro, packs his documents, at the European Parliament building, in Brussels, on Friday, Feb. 1, 2013, ready to move to Strasbourg.
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