A crucible—or a zoo?
Odd behaviour is the only thing that stirs interest in the European Parliament
THE European Parliament building in Strasbourg is a tough place to find your way around at the best of times. It is a baffling combination of towers, hemicycles, courtyards, conference rooms and tree-filled atriums, all linked together by glass lifts and dark, leather-lined corridors. Even veteran members of the European Parliament (MEPs) can lose their way, particularly since they only use the place four days a month—spending the rest of the time at their other vast headquarters in Brussels. But this week the Strasbourg building was unusually full of lost-looking people. That is because a new batch of MEPs has just arrived in office, following last month's elections. The addition of ten new countries to the European Union in May—plus a high rate of turnover among the 15 older members—means that fully 70% of the 732 politicians who turned up in Strasbourg were entirely new to the place.
This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline “A crucible—or a zoo?”
From the July 24th 2004 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the editionDiscover more
Emmanuel Macron shows off the gloriously restored Notre Dame
Five years after it was gutted by fire, the cathedral is more beautiful than ever
Ursula von der Leyen has a new doctrine for handling the hard right
The boss of the European Commission embarks on a second term
Marine Le Pen spooks the bond markets
She threatens to bring down the French government, but also faces a possible ban from politics
The maths of Europe’s military black hole
It needs to spend to defend, but voters may balk
Ukraine’s warriors brace for a Kremlin surge in the south
Vladimir Putin’s war machine is pushing harder and crushing Ukrainian morale
Vladimir Putin fires a new missile to amplify his nuclear threats
The attack on Ukraine is part of a new era of missile warfare