Radio Impuls | European Parliament's Inefficient Moving Between Two Locations

European Parliament's moving from Brussels to plenary sessions in Strasbourg carry symbolic significance, but the logistics costs up to 3 billion CZK annually. Implementing a change would require amending the fundamental treaties of the European Union, which would need approval from all member states. Viktor Daněk, Deputy Director of the EUROPEUM Institute, commented on this topic for Radio Impuls.

Strasbourg is formally the seat of the European Parliament, but in fact, Members of the European Parliament spend most of their time either in Brussels or in their home countries, and they only travel to Strasbourg for plenary sessions, which typically last four days once a month. (...) I don't think there's currently an appetite to embark on treaty revisions, as that would be a process lasting many years. And moreover, for France it's a matter of prestige.

Viktor Daněk
Deputy Director

Before entering the NGO sphere, Viktor Daněk worked for almost ten years as a journalist. During his time with the public service Czech radio, he focused mainly on covering EU affairs. He spent almost five years as a permanent correspondent in Brussels, where he cooperated with other media outlets. Before his career in journalism, he gained experience in the area of marketing and communication in the Česká spořitelna banking group and at the Czech Technical University in Prague. He holds university degrees in Media Studies and International Relations. Viktor Daněk joined the EUROPEUM Institute for European Policy in October 2023. He continues to be active in the media as a freelancer. His main areas of interest are institutional questions of European integration, globalisation and the EU’s climate and migration policy.