The European Parliament has offered the Brussels regional authorities to make available a building and a fleet of cars and lorries to help deal with the new coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, spokesman Jaume Duch said on Wednesday.
European Parliament Secretary-General Klaus Welle contacted the Brussels Region in the morning to propose that it make use of Parliament's resources. The European Parliament is thinking primarily of its building on the Square de Meeûs, and of about a hundred service cars and lorries, with drivers.
President of the European Parliament David Sassoli and his cabinet "have been examining for several days how Parliament could help in concrete terms," Duch said. "The building could, for example, be used as a hospital or as a temporary residence for people in need of assistance. Drivers could help with the transport of food or medicine," he added.
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The European Parliament wants to offer similar assistance in the other cities where it is based, in Luxembourg and Strasbourg. Teleworking is in force for many of its workers, so several buildings of its buildings are almost empty.
MEPs normally have to hold twelve plenary sessions a year in Strasbourg, France, where the region is particularly hard hit by the pandemic. Several plenaries have been moved to Brussels, and the first plenary that could return to Strasbourg will take place in September at the earliest.
The Brussels Times
