EU lawmakers demand hooker-free hotels

BRUSSELS, Oct. 24 (UPI) -- European Parliament members from Denmark, Norway and Sweden are pushing for parliamentary staff to be put up only in hotels that ban prostitutes.

The 37 members of the European Parliament sent a letter to the body's president, Hans-Gert Pottering, asking that "the EU Parliament only use hotels which issue a guarantee that they are not involved in the sex-trade, and that all staff have written guidelines on the issue," Radio Netherlands reported Friday.

Charlotte Cederschiold, a Swedish member of the European Parliament from the Christian Democrat party, said she has witnessed some parliamentary staffers paying for sex.

"I have seen it happen myself and it is completely unacceptable," she said. "We should not tolerate this behavior, it damages our moral reputation, especially when we are here to work."

Pottering said he has referred the issue to a special panel.