The European Parliament will revert back to its habit of relocating to the French city of Strasbourg 12 times a year, it agreed Wednesday, applying a ruling by the European Union's top court even though critics view the practice as wasteful.
The parliament, whose working base is in Brussels, had to vote on the issue after attempts to reduce the number of annual sessions in Strasbourg to 11 ran into legal obstacles.
In December, the European Court of Justice overruled the move, arguing that the parliament's rotation was enshrined in the EU's founding treaties.
Cutting just one of the monthly 500-kilometre treks by hundreds of EU parliamentarians and translators from Brussels to Strasbourg would save more than 2.5 million euros (3.3 million dollars), according to the parliament's own calculations.
Strasbourg was chosen as the seat of the parliament because of its symbolic location, on the border between France and Germany. The monthly influx of parliamentarians is crucial to the city's economy.
A unanimous decision by EU governments could abolish the set-up, but France has warned that it would never consent to it.