The European Parliament formally recessed on 21 June for its annual summer holiday and will remain closed until 21 August. A UnionPress questionnaire sent to all 718 elected members received 124 replies, 93 of which were detailed enough to analyse.

Two‑seat system under scrutiny

Respondents highlighted that the Parliament’s dual‑seat arrangement in Brussels and Strasbourg interferes with family life. Czech MEP Ondřej Dostál summed up the sentiment: “I am missing home far too often, also because of the dual‑seat nature of the Parliament in Brussels and Strasbourg. This affects not only us but also all our staff who have families. That is why we have repeatedly voted, with overwhelming majorities, for a single seat, a vote that has so far been ignored. August is therefore the only whole month we can spend together, undisturbed.”

More than half of the 124 respondents said they would spend the break with family, and about a third indicated they would continue working on legislative projects. The survey suggests that the two‑seat system not only hampers personal time but also leaves repeated votes for a single seat without effect.

Who replied and how often

German MEPs supplied 32 % of the answers despite representing only 13 % of the Parliament, while Finnish members had the highest reply rate relative to their delegation, with almost half of all Finnish MEPs answering. Italy and Poland each contributed only one response. The Greens, holding 7 % of seats, accounted for 19 % of replies; Renew Europe, with 11 % of seats, contributed 17 %; and the European People’s Party, with 26 % of seats, supplied 19 % of the answers.

Holiday plans by group

Greens and Renew members tended to stress personal well‑being, environmental concerns and local tourism. Examples include Austrian Green MEP Thomas Waitz, who will work on his mountain farm, keep bees and monitor climate‑related policy changes, and Dutch Green MEP Catarina Vieira, who reminded colleagues that “there is life beyond notifications”. German Green MEP Hannah Neumann, preparing for the post‑holiday session, said she is “prepping to annoy some more fascists and autocrats after the holiday.”

EPP and ECR members focused more on domestic travel and ongoing legislative work. Spanish EPP MEP Gabriel Mato will observe a week without flying after normally taking about six flights per week, while German EPP MEP Axel Voss will attend the GamesCom trade show in Cologne. Six of eight ECR respondents said they would stay in their own country, as did four of five Patriots for Europe respondents.

Individual plans reflected a wide spectrum: Irish Renew MEP Barry Andrews will walk on Dublin’s beach with his dog and drink Guinness in the evenings; Dutch Renew MEP Brigitte Van Den Berg will go backpacking in an unspecified jungle; Dutch MEP Raquel García Hermida‑Van Der Walle will travel by train from Friesland to Spain; Czech EPP MEP Ondřej Kolář will restore a 1920s house near Prague; Danish Green MEP Kira Marie Peter‑Hansen is expecting a baby girl in August; Slovenian EPP MEP Zala Tomašič is getting married; German Renew MEP Lukas Sieper will attend a techno music festival; and Latvian ECR MEP Roberts Zīle invited visitors to enjoy Latvia’s summer.

Campaigning and legislative work continues

Several members will use the break to advance policy work. Lithuanian Social Democrat MEP Povilas Andriukaitis plans to draft amendments to strengthen biotechnology and biomanufacturing in Europe. Irish Renew MEP Ciaran Mullooly is campaigning for workers displaced by decarbonisation of coal mining and peat extraction in Poland and Ireland, noting his 60th birthday. German and Finnish MEPs responded more frequently than their Italian and Polish counterparts, and German Social Democrat MEP Sabrina Repp together with Green MEP Anna Cavazzini will campaign in Mecklenburg‑Western Pomerania and Saxony‑Anhalt ahead of state elections.

The questionnaire underscores that the majority of MEPs will be in their home regions with families during the recess, while a notable share will continue campaigning or drafting legislation on topics such as biotechnology, decarbonisation and upcoming elections.