Institutional seats of the European Union was against the treaties and the natural prerogatives of a Parliament elected by direct universal suffrage, claiming the right to decide its own workings to its own efficiency. In response, leaders annexed the decision to the Treaty of Amsterdam, including it in the treaties. A Council decision on 29 October 1993 on the location of European agencies established that the European Monetary Institute, later the European Central Bank, would be based in Frankfurt. Frankfurt had to compete with numerous other cities, including London, Paris, Amsterdam, Luxembourg, Lyon, Barcelona and even Basel (in Switzerland, which was outside the European Union). France
Institutional seats of the European Union locations of the major seats have been enshrined in the treaties of the European Union, Parliament has no right to decide its own seat, unlike other national parliaments. Locating new bodies is also not without political disputes. The European Central Bank's (ECB) seat had to symbolise its independence from political control, and was located in a city which did not already host a national government or European institution. New agencies are also being based in eastern Europe since 2004 to balance the distribution of agencies across the EU. The treaties of the European Union outline the locations of the following