URGENT COMMUNICATION

Luxemburg, 01-04-98

98-0401

To the attention of the Members of the Parliament

Object: follow-up of the London Conference on enlargement

Re-move of Members into the Rue Belliard's buildings

Dear Madam, Dear Sir,

for many reasons, too numerous to explain here, the new buildings of the EP in Brussels (Rue Wiertz) were neither conceived nor realized to adequately organize Committees' meetings when our colleagues from new Member States join this institution on the occasion of the next as well as future enlargements.

Notably, as you have certainly already noticed, our meeting rooms can not accommodate the 5 staffs of interpreters that will add to the 11 already existing after the first enlargement (Polish, Hungarian, Czech, Slovenian and Estonian cabin).

In order to rapidly remedy this problem and to face this delicate question, whose costs are onerous, the EP Bureau believes that it is necessary to immediately start restoration work of the EP new buildings.

It has notably been decided to proceed without delay to the restoration of the Committees' meeting rooms of G and I wings, unifying the rooms of the 1st and 3rd floors in order to be able to install 24 interpreters' cabins on three levels. Each cabin will include 6 working places (Directive CKC-2178-UE on the minimum cubic capacity for each interpreter). This will allow us at the same time to face the next enlargement without further restoration of the meeting rooms.

For security reasons and for sound comfort, we have been obliged to opt for the move of all the Members back to the old Rue Belliard's buildings, as from the end of next July until the end of this legislature (June 1999).

For more information on these matters, some representatives of the concerned firms, will be at your complete disposal this Wednesday at 11.45 h in front of the hemicycle.

Knowing that you will understand, please accept, dear Madam, dear Sir, my best regards.

Julyan Piesley

(General Secretary)