Guide to the European Parliament: Locations
The parliament has two chambers - one in Brussels, the other in Strasbourg - and a secretariat in Luxembourg.
For three weeks of the month the parliament operates in Brussels, where most committee and political group meetings take place, then for one week it decamps to Strasbourg.
This perpetual movement adds to the cost of running the parliament, and is unpopular with members of the European Parliament (MEPs), because of the extra travel involved. The parliament has urged the governments to amend the EU treaties to make Brussels the parliament's single seat.
However, the Strasbourg parliament is a matter of national prestige for France, which can veto any treaty change. Situated on the border between Germany and France, which fought two world wars in the last century, the city is also a symbol of Europe's peaceful new order.