This Europe: Cost of commuting leaves MEPs in no mood to party

The celebration will include speeches, music and the raising of the European Union flag. But when the European Parliament marks its 50th birthday in Strasbourg today one group of MEPs will do its best to spoil the party.

Conservative MEPs have seized on an official report, listing the parliament's annual costs, to call for an end to their monthly commute between Brussels and Strasbourg.

Under a deal struck by EU governments, the parliament's politicians and staff move from Brussels one week in every four and headto Alsace. The document, compiled by the parliament's secretary general, Julian Priestley, says the institution spends €169m (£107m) each year to keep on the move – a figure that will rise to €203m, or 16 per cent of the total parliament budget, when the EU expands in 2004.

"Any concentration of activities in one place of work would entail one-off infrastructure and staff removal costs," the report states, although it adds: "Those costs would probably be offset by the parliament's vacating the larger premises currently occupied."

Of course, even more expensive options exist, the report says. It points out that salary weightings might rise if the parliament were shifted completely. Salary and staff costs could increase by €223m in the unlikely event of the institution being moved to London.

That failed to impress Jonathan Evans, leader of the British Conservative MEPs, who argued: "Strasbourg is a white elephant. It is expensive, bureaucratic and should go. The best anniversary present we could give Europe is to hand back the €200m that Strasbourg costs by scrapping the meetings there."

Today's celebration underlines the parliament's modest beginnings because it marks the first meeting of the common assembly of the European Coal and Steel Community. That body was enlarged in March 1958 although the parliament's members were not directly elected until 1979.Many believe that despite its advanced years the institution will only come of age when it has one full-time site.