The European Parliament’s expenses regime for Members has been heavily criticised, and rightly, for its lack of effective control. For a long time it has been a system based on trust and different countries have different cultures concerning these issues.
It is gradually becoming more accountable; not least because the Greens have made continuing efforts to promote change and because of the cross-party Campaign for Parliamentary Reform supported by many Members within the Parliament. A number of changes will occur after the next European Elections in 2009.
So, what are MEPs paid?
Each MEP is currently paid the same salary as a Member of their national Parliament: for a UK Member that is £61,820 and it is paid by the national treasury. We pay tax at national rates on that salary. Those from Spain are paid considerably less, those from Austria are paid more. From 2009, there will be a new Members’ Statute which will enable all Members to be paid the same (one third of the salary of a judge at the European Court of Justice) and this will be paid from the budget of the European Parliament. We are currently waiting for a decision from the UK Government as to whether MEPs representing the UK will be able to join the new system.
Parliamentary allowances
The European Parliament’s total budget represents 1% of all EU expenditure. Some 21% of that 1% is allocated to MEPs expenditure at present. Each Member of the European Parliament is entitled to claim the following allowances, which are paid from the Parliament’s budget.
General Expenditure Allowance
This is currently €4052 (£2,896) per month and is used to pay for such things as office rent, rates and running costs (postage, phone and internet bills, equipment rental costs etc); capital costs such as computer equipment, and helps pay for a Member’s travel within their constituency. My office is based in Southwark and the costs are shared with South-East Region Green MEP, Caroline Lucas. The Parliament is currently discussing what rules should apply to demonstrating expenditure: at the moment there are no formal requirements. Members are expected to act within the rules. Greens have been pushing for change, so that Members would have to formally account for over 50% of expenditure, but there is no Parliamentary majority for change. The allowance is halved if a member fails to attend at least 50% of the Strasbourg plenary sessions without having permission from Parliament’s authorities, in case of illness for example.
Secretarial Allowance
The maximum payment at present is €16,914 (£12,000) per month. This should be spent on “human resources”, people to assist Members in their work. This can cover staff employed on a long-term (the 5 years that a Parliament lasts) or temporary basis and also covers other possibilities such as consultancy and research. It covers all the related costs such as national insurance, tax, pension, training and staff expenses should we ask them to travel to Strasbourg, for example. We can also use it to cover expenses for those on work experience with us. Members have to declare to Parliament’s authorities that our staff are covered for tax and social security payments. Staff can be employed directly by Members and monies are paid directly to them via the Parliament; we can use a paying agent to deal with payments or have a contract with a service provider which will then deal with employing staff. If we use a service provider, as I do, we have to lodge a copy of our contract with them with the Parliamentary authorities and present an invoice, or fee statement, from them to the authorities at least once a year. Any assistant having a Parliament pass must lodge a copy of their employment contract with Parliament’s authorities and their name(s) is/are published on a public register. There is no requirement to present full accounts.
Parliament’s Vice-President from the Green/EFA Group, Gerard Onesta, has been at the forefront of the moves to improve transparency and accountability since taking responsibility for the issues concerning assistants. There is also more information on our Group’s position in the report for Parliament’s Budget Control Committee drawn up by Flemish Groen! Member Bart Staes.
From 2009 it is likely that the employment arrangements for Brussels staff will change to a single, general system and they will have a common statute. There is a working group led by one of the Parliament’s Vice-presidents dealing with this issue.
Via my service provider, I have three full-time members of staff (2 in London, 1 in Brussels) and 1 additional part-time staff member in London,. None of them are relatives. I also usually have one stagiaire in Brussels and sometimes another for Strasbourg weeks, as well as using consultants from time to time for specific projects.
Daily Attendance Allowance
For any day that we attend an official Parliament meeting or are present at an EU institution (Luxembourg, Brussels or Strasbourg) during an official working day for work purposes, we are paid an attendance allowance of €235 (£180) This should cover all expenses such as hotel rooms and/or flat rental, meals, taxi fares etc. No receipts are required as this is a lump-sum payment, made if we sign the official register or the attendance list at the official meeting. During official plenaries of the Parliament, the amount is halved if a Member is not present for 50% of the roll-call votes.
Travel Allowance
This is a lump-sum payment for journeys to and from (usually) our home to Parliament which is made up of: the cost of an economy-class flexible ticket for air travel or flexible ticket for train travel, plus a distance allowance. We must present evidence of travel (our boarding pass or train ticket) or sign a declaration for car travel. Sometimes there is a difference between the payment and the real cost and the Member may keep this. I offset my carbon emissions for train and plane travel from my travel surplus – not a solution but the money is used to help fund sustainable development projects. My travel surplus is also used to pay for additional travel to meetings and events within the UK outside London so I don’t have to ask hard-up organisations to cover my expenses, or for initiatives with an international dimension.
From 2009, the rules will change so that only the real costs of the journey, plus possibly a small distance allowance, will be paid. The Green/EFA Group has supported this move.
Personal Travel Allowance
Each member has a personal travel allowance of €4000 (£3049) a year to enable them to accept invitations outside our usual places of work or make their own fact-finding journeys outside their own Member State. We can claim the real-costs by presenting the appropriate proofs and invitation if relevant. I have recently used this to fund a fact-finding trip with other Parliamentarians to Israel and Gaza .
Additional Pension Scheme
British MEPs are members of the same pension scheme as our national MPs at present. There is also an additional pension scheme set up in the EP which Members may opt to join, but I have chosen not to join it. When the new Members’ Statute becomes operational in 2009, this will include a pension entitlement and it is likely that the existing additional pension scheme will close to new Members.
References
1. Bart Staes Report
2. New Statute for Members