Members of the European Parliament take part in a plenary session | Frederick Florin/AFP via Getty Images Dutch FM: Cut half of European Parliament seats Bert Koenders argued EU must stop wasting money and become more self-reliant.

Members of European Parliament would have more to do if there were less of them, according to Dutch Foreign Minister Bert Koenders.

“MEPs have been complaining about the lack of work," Koenders wrote in an op-ed published Friday in Dutch newspaper AD. "If the European Parliament thinks it doesn't have enough work to do, it could do with half of its seats.”

The article was written in the form of a letter to U.S. President Donald Trump. Responding to Trump's claims the EU has no future, Koenders argued the "European Union in 2017 is a safe haven in a troubled world. That's why thousands are trying to reach the Continent."

The foreign minister wrote that in the face of challenges, the EU must be more efficient, and MEPs must leave the Brussels bubble and spend more time outside meeting rooms.

Koenders also called for Parliament to scrap its monthly trips between its bases in Brussels and Strasbourg, arguing this was “a waste of money.”

The Dutch minister said Britain voting for Brexit and Trump's "America First" repositioning offered an opportunity to reform the EU, which would have to become more self-reliant.