page_title: Seat of the European Parliament in Strasbourg
section_title: Former buildings
hierarchical_section_title: Seat of the European Parliament in Strasbourg / Former buildings
caption_attribution_description: Council of Europe Palais de l'Europe aerial view - Architecte Henry Bernard
context_page_description: The city of Strasbourg in France is the official seat of the European Parliament. The institution is legally bound by the decision of Edinburgh European Council of 11 and 12 December 1992 and Article 341 of the TFEU to meet there twelve times a year for a session, each of which usually takes about four days. The majority of work, however, takes place in Brussels, and some other work is undertaken in Luxembourg City. Also all votes of the European Parliament must take place in Strasbourg. "Additional" sessions and committees take place in Brussels. Although de facto a majority of the Parliament's work is now geared to its Brussels site, it is legally bound to keep Strasbourg as its official home; a situation which garners much criticism from the European Parliament itself, as well as many interest groups, administrative staff, and environmentalist groups amongst others.
  The Parliament's five buildings, all named after distinguished European politicians, are located in the Quartier Européen of the city, which it shares with other European organisations which are separate from the European Union's.
context_section_description: The present buildings were constructed due to the enlargement of the European Union in 1995 (and the planned enlargement to the east in 2004). Due to the new members, the Parliament needed a larger hemicycle to hold debates, and more offices for MEPs. Prior to this, Parliament shared the facilities of the Council of Europe, who had built a hemicycle in their headquarters: the Palace of Europe. That hemicycle was inaugurated for the Parliament's use, and for the use of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, on 28 January 1977.
  However, the sharing of this chamber could cause confusion for TV audiences unsure which institution was using it at the time. This was exacerbated by the EU and the Council of Europe both using the same flag, although the two did use their own emblems as well.
  Before the Palace of Europe was built in 1977, the two institutions also shared the Maison de l'Europe ("House of Europe") from 1958. The Maison was a provisory concrete building of purely functional architecture and was inaugurated in 1950. It stood where there is now a lawn leading up to the Palace of Europe.
caption: From left to right: Louise Weiss, Winston Churchill, Pierre Pflimlin, Václav Havel (before the transformation, photo taken in 2008), and Council of Europe buildings.
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