The European Parliament will move its opening session to Brussels from its Strasbourg headquarters because part of the debating chamber's ceiling has collapsed, a parliament spokesman said today.
The move should not prove too disruptive to MEPs, who meet just four days a month in Strasbourg and spend the rest of their working time in Brussels, an expensive split that has drawn much negative press over the years.
Parliament was forced to shift the first session in September after around 200 square metres of material weighing several tonnes fell to the floor of the Strasbourg building on August 7th when part of the system that holds the ceiling in place broke.