MEPs to be cattle-prodded

My thanks to England Expects for this gem about the "State of the Union" address tomorrow by EU President José Manuel Durão Barroso:

With a view to ensuring the highest possible attendance at the debate [?] on the State of the Union, the Conference of Presidents decided at its meeting on Thursday 2 September 2010 to introduce specific checks on Members' presence in the Chamber using the electronic system at three different moments during the debate.

The President will inform the Bureau of this decision at its meeting in Strasbourg on Monday 6 September 2010 and ask it, as the body responsible for such matters, to fix the appropriate penalty for those Members who are not present for at least two of these three checks.

Well, if you consent to the status of cattle/sheep/pigs you must expect to be treated as such.