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Emmanuel Macron was accused of wasting €100million (£84million) of European taxpayers' money to prop up his own “European vanity projects”. German international broadcaster Deutsche Welle’s (DW) Tim Sebastian told key Macron ally and leading MEP Nathalie Loiseau that France’s demand to have the European Parliament move once a month to Strasbourg was damaging the environment and wasting millions of euros a year. Ms Loiseau responded by claiming that Germany was equally guilty of wasting money on European vanity projects by housing the European Central Bank in Frankfurt.

This sparked a tense war of words, as Mr Macron’s record in EU came under scrutiny. The DW host said: “If you were serious about the environment you would halt this incredibly wasteful process of convening the European Parliament once a month in Strasbourg and the rest of the time in Brussels. “At the moment, this is hugely damaging to the environment and hugely costly to the European taxpayer, but it’s France’s vanity project, isn’t it?” Ms Loiseau responded: “It’s in the treaties. And it’s Germany’s vanity project to have the European Central Bank in Frankfurt, and Luxembourg’s to have premises in Luxembourg." JUST IN: Oh dear, Emmanuel! Crisis for Macron as support PLUMMETS

Loiseau claimed that Germany was equally guilty of wasting money on European vanity projects

Macron was accused of wasting €100m of European taxpayers money to prop up his own “European vanity projects”

Sebastian fired back: “But the whole European Bank doesn’t get up like a travelling circus once every month at the cost of €100million (£84million) a year.” The MEP said: “There is also a cost for EU premises in Germany, in Luxembourg and other places in Europe. Do you want Eurocrats to stay in the Brussels bubble? Is that what citizens have been voting for?” The TV host said: “Please go to Strasbourg once a month, they are not telling you that, are they?" Sebastian also questioned why anyone in the EU should listen to the French President’s ideas for reform when he “can’t even pass reforms in his own country”.

The MEP claimed that Germany had also wasted taxpayers money on vanity projects

Sebastian also questioned why anyone in the EU should listen to the French President’s ideas for reform

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