Seat of the European Parliament in Strasbourg Seat of the European Parliament in Strasbourg The city of Strasbourg (France) is the official seat of the European Parliament. The institution is legally bound to meet there twelve sessions a year lasting about four days each. Other work takes place in Brussels and Luxembourg City (see Location of European Union institutions for more information). 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
Seat of the European Parliament in Strasbourg official home. The Parliament's five buildings, all named after distinguished European politicians, are located in the "Quartier Européen" (European Quarter) of the city, which it shares with other European organisations which are separate from the European Union's. Previously the Parliament used to share the same assembly room as the Council of Europe. Today, the principal building is the Louise Weiss building, inaugurated in 1999. The Louise Weiss building (IPE 4) (named after Louise Weiss, a French former member of the parliament), is located in the Wacken district of Strasbourg, south of Schiltigheim, between the 1920s workers' suburban colony ("Cité ouvrière")