<P> Despite the 1965 agreement, the Parliament's seat remained a source of contention . Wishing to be closer to the activities in Brussels and Luxembourg, a few plenary sessions were held by the Parliament between 1967 and 1981 in Luxembourg instead of Strasbourg--against the wishes of France--and in 1981 it returned to holding sessions entirely in Strasbourg . In the previous year it unsuccessfully issued an ultimatum to the national governments, attempting to force them to reach an agreement . Thus, the Parliament moved some of its decision - making bodies to Brussels, along with its committee and political group meetings, and in 1985 it also built a plenary chamber in Brussels for some part - sessions . All the Parliament's attempts in this field were challenged by member states . </P> <P> In response, the European Council adopted on 12 December 1992 in Edinburgh a final agreement on the seats . The Decision on the location of the seats of the institutions and of certain bodies and departments of the European Communities outlined that the Parliament would be based in Strasbourg, where it would be obliged to hold "twelve periods of monthly plenary sessions, including the budget session". However, additional sessions could be held in Brussels, which is where committees also should have met while the secretariat had to remain in Luxembourg . </P> <P> It also provided for the Court of First Instance (now known as the General Court) to be based in Luxembourg with the Court of Justice, which remained there . However, this agreement dropped the provision from the 1965 decision, which gave priority to Luxembourg for any new judicial and financial bodies . In response, Luxembourg attached a unilateral declaration stating it did not renounce this article . However they did renounce any claim to the seat of the judicial Boards of Appeal of the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market via the Treaty of Nice . </P> <P> The Parliament challenged this decision splitting their working arrangements, declaring that the division of its activities between three states 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 . </P>

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