The President of the European Parliament, Mr Pat Cox, has been criticised in Germany for his use of a private jet on a number of trips taken on behalf of the parliament, writes Liam Reid.
A spokesman for Mr Cox defended the trips, however, saying they were absolutely necessary and constituted one-twentieth of the trips he took on behalf of the European Parliament in the last two years.
On Tuesday, German magazine Stern published details of Mr Cox's eight trips by private jet, three in 2002 and five in 2003, from Cork to various European destinations. One trip to the Balkans cost €48,470. Mr Cox flew from his home in Cork, together with five officials, to Croatia, Serbia, Kosovo and Macedonia before returning to Dublin.
The magazine said that last month Mr Cox obtained "retrospective" permission for the trips from the European Parliament group responsible for his travel budget.
This group, the European Parliament Bureau, consists of the 14 vice-presidents of the parliament.
Mr Cox's spokesman said that the private jet trips constituted just "eight out of 140 over three years ... He can't really do his job as President of the European Parliament without doing this.
"Because of European enlargement, there is a larger geographic area to cover. Private charter flights have only been used when there is no scheduled flights available.
"Just about all presidents of major organisations do this, and it is necessary when there is no alternative. Occasionally this just has to be done."
A number of German MEPs are unhappy with the practice, however, according to Stern, which said the matter was expected to be raised at the European Parliament.
German Green MEP, Ms Heide Rühle, told the magazine the practice of using private jets was "embarrassing" and would have to stop.