Talk:Member of the European Parliament

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I'm not very good with this Wiki stuff, but I thought you might be interested to learn that the 'Bumper Book of Government Waste' includes a detailed section on EU expenses, including accident and life insurance (on and off duty), medical insurance for them and their spouse and family, funding for dental work, 6 months maternity leave after the birth and 3 before, etc etc. The book states that 'Each MEP is estimated to cost the taxpayer £2.4m per year, in comparison to over £375,000 for each MP.'

The book is published by The Taxpayers Alliance, a low-tax lobbying group.


It is not only British-centric: the expense section shows a POV, trying to excuse the MEPs. They do get a lot of money that is not publicly accounted for and a lot of special deals (in hotels, trains, airlines, etc). This is the Financial arrangements of the MEP's as of today:

"Allowances Pending the entry into force of the single statute for Members of the European Parliament, Members receive a basic allowance paid by the parliaments or governments of the various Member States, which is subject to the tax rules of the country in question.

The amount of this allowance is equal to the amount of the national parliamentary allowance, less any additional allowances to which Members of national parliaments may be entitled.

The European Parliament confines itself to paying its Members allowances to cover the costs incurred in the performance of their parliamentary duties, in particular travel and subsistence expenses, the monthly general expenditure allowance and a parliamentary assistance allowance to cover the cost of hiring an assistant.

The provisions governing the payment of the various allowances are adopted by the Bureau and are set out in the Rules governing the payment of expenses and allowances to Members. The Quaestors are responsible for ensuring that these provisions are properly applied.

These Rules are forwarded to each Member at the beginning of his or her term of office, and each Member must acknowledge their receipt in writing. Copies of the Rules may also be obtained from the Quaestors' secretariat.

Travel and subsistence expenses

Members are entitled to a travel and subsistence allowance in respect of the days on which they participate in meetings of official Parliament bodies (part-session, Bureau, Conference of Presidents, committees, interparliamentary delegations, political groups and other bodies established by the Bureau). Such participation must be attested by signing either the attendance register open in the meeting room, or, during part-sessions in Strasbourg and Brussels, the attendance register in the Chamber.

Outside part-sessions, Members are also entitled to a travel and subsistence allowance for visits to a Community institution in Brussels, in which case they must provide proof of attendance by signing the central register. This same register is available to Members in Luxembourg (SCH Building/reception) and in Strasbourg when meetings of an official Parliament body, other than a plenary sitting, are held there.

Travel expenses

When a Member participates in an official meeting of one of Parliament’s bodies within the European Union the amount of the travel allowance is calculated on the basis of the mode of transport used:

where the Member travels by air, the allowance comprises the following:

an amount equivalent to the YY economy full fare for the journey between the nearest appropriate airport to the Member’s place of residence1 and the airport serving the place of work in question;

an amount representing the cost of travel from the Member’s place of residence to the nearest appropriate airport on the basis of a single rate per km set by the Bureau (€ 0.35/km as at 1.1.06);

an amount set by the Bureau based on the distance of a return journey from the place of residence to the place of work, known as the distance allowance.

0 - 500 € 0 501 - 1 000 € 117 1 001 - 1 500 € 281 1 501 - 2 000 € 374 2 001 - 2 400 € 468 more than 2 400 € 585


when the Member is travelling not by air but by surface transport, the flat-rate travel allowance comprises the following:

an amount for a single journey based on the flat rates set by the Bureau, with the full rate (€ 0.70/km as at 1.1.06) being applied for the part of the journey which is less than or equal to 500 km, and the reduced rate (€ 0.29/km as at 1.1.06) for the remainder of the journey;

an amount set by the Bureau on the basis of the distance per return journey between the place of residence and the place of work (distance allowance).

0 - 500 € 0 501 - 1 000 € 117 1 001 - 1 500 € 281 1 501 - 2 000 € 374 2 001 - 2 400 € 468 more than 2 400 € 585

This allowance is intended to cover all expenses incurred during the journey (in particular ticket reservation, baggage transport, accommodation, meals and taxi fares).

Supporting documents

Payment is made on presentation of the following supporting documents:

for each plane journey, the boarding card, or, where no such card is issued, the plane ticket or a copy thereof,

for rail journeys, the train ticket, or, if the ticket is needed for another journey, a copy thereof,

for journeys in the Member’s own car, a personal declaration stating the registration number of the vehicle, the mileage at the beginning and end of the journey, the route taken and the parking place of the vehicle at Parliament’s place of work.

When a Member participates in an official meeting of one of Parliament’s bodies outside the European Union, the amount reimbursed comprises the following:

For journeys by plane

an amount representing the cost of travel between the Member’s point of departure and the nearest appropriate airport, assessed on the basis of a single rate per km set by the Bureau; and

the cost of the plane ticket used for the return journey on the basis of the most direct route, on presentation of the ticket and boarding card.

For journeys by surface transport

by train: the cost of the train ticket used for the return journey on the basis of the most direct route; by other means of transport: an amount equivalent to the cost of a first-class ticket. Subsistence allowance

Members are entitled to a flat-rate allowance (€ 274/day as at 1.1.06) for participation in official meetings of Parliament’s bodies taking place within the European Union. This allowance is intended to cover accommodation expenses and meals, as well as any other expenses incurred during the stay.

During part-sessions, the subsistence allowance is halved for Members who have not taken part in half the roll-call votes on the Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of a Strasbourg part-session or the Thursday of a Brussels part-session.

For meetings outside the European Union, this daily allowance is reduced by half, but the cost of bed and breakfast is borne by Parliament. The subsistence allowance is paid in hourly instalments for the period between the time of departure and the time of return.

Travel allowance

This allowance, of up to € 3 826 a year (as at 1.1.06), is intended to cover the cost of travel anywhere in the world, except in the country in which a Member was elected, on parliamentary business (for purposes other than attendance at official meetings, such as conferences taking place in another Member State, and so on). It can also be used to cover accommodation and related expenses. Expenses are reimbursed under this allowance by reference to the air or rail fare on presentation of the relevant ticket and supporting documents.

Additional information is available from the Directorate-General for Finance / Members' Financial Affairs Division.

General expenditure allowance

Members receive a flat-rate monthly allowance of € 3 876 (as at 1.1.06) which is chiefly intended to cover office management expenditure, phone bills, postage, the purchase, management and use of IT equipment, and travel by Members within their own Member State.

This allowance is paid monthly at the Member’s request. Members who, without valid reason, have not taken part in half the part-session days will be required to repay 50% of the allowance. Where absence from a part-session is justified on grounds of health or serious family circumstances, supporting documents must be sent to the Quaestors no later than two months from the end of the period of absence.

Parliamentary assistance allowance

Each Member is entitled to a monthly parliamentary assistance allowance of €.15.222 (as at 1.1.06) to cover expenses arising out of the employment or use of the services of one or more assistants whom the Member may choose at his or her discretion. Several Members may jointly engage or employ the services of a single assistant.

The Member is the assistant’s sole employer or the service provider’s sole contractor and there is no legal or administrative link between the Member’s assistant or service provider and Parliament. The only administrative obligation on Parliament being to pay the remuneration in accordance with the Member’s instructions, on his or her behalf, either directly to the assistant, or to a paying agent designated by the Member, or to the service provider. The Member must submit an application for a parliamentary assistance allowance accompanied by a private law contract that has been directly concluded in accordance with national law between him or her and an assistant or service provider."


When talking about the expenses used to hire assistants, the excusing is bluntly presented. It is not true that most MEPs have large offices, they usualy have one or two assistants plus an unpaid trainee. Most MEPs do not fulfill their legal contractual obligations and abuse their assistants, who have to work in an evironment made to permit and hide such abuse. The assistants are to be legally employed under the laws of their country of origin (like in the famous bolkenstein directive) but only 20% of the MEPs have presented the mandatory social security registrations to the European Parliament. Of those that have done so, half pay an average of €400 a month to their assistants. A lot of MEPs have officially larger offices because they hire relatives to get the revenue. There are also known cases of assistants having to hand back part of their salaries to the MEP each month. --User:Tampopo 10:38, 07 Sept 2006.


Wow, a lot of additional information! But isn't this a bit British-centric? -- till we *) 12:59, 10 Feb 2004 (UTC)

Yes, good point! Admittedly, I'm a Brit, so that's my area of expertise. I've had a look over and modified some of the slightly more blatant Britain-only references. But if someone were to make it more international by adding in some information from other countries, that would be great.

I'm not sure what to do with the big expenses section. I think a comparison of MEP expenses with national parliamentarians' expenses is useful, but I take the point that it's a bit UK-centric at the moment. Any ideas? Toby W 13:10, 10 Feb 2004 (UTC)

Contents

[edit] Expense section

Moved expense section and allegation that it is untrue to talk page -- till we *) 08:33, 21 Apr 2004 (UTC)

It was right to move this over here temporarily. My view, for what it's worth: it's the initial paragraph ("The right-wing press of several member states"...) which is perceived as POV, while the bullet points about MEPs' expenses are purely factual (based on the Parliament's rules of procedure). So I suggest that the bullet points are restored, while the initial paragraph is rewritten to be more satisfactorily NPOV. A sub-section on 'debates about expenses', presenting both sides of the argument about whether MEPs are overpaid/can fiddle the system or whatever, would also be worthwhile. What do people think? Toby W 09:04, 21 Apr 2004 (UTC)

[edit] Expenses

The right-wing press of several member states (notably Denmark, Sweden and the UK) have frequently accused MEPs of taking advantage of lucrative expense allowances for personal profit. While the level of expenses paid to any politician is always open to debate, in fact MEPs receive allowances that are in fact roughly equivalent to those paid to British MPs.

The detail is complicated because the categories and the methods of payment are slightly different. As of 2002:

  • MPs received an allowance for travel around their constituencies, but MEPs did not, despite the fact that their constituencies were much larger.
  • MPs were paid a lump sum of just under £19,500 for accommodation at seat of Parliament, regardless of the time they actually spent there. MEPs received £150 per day attended and were required to sign in to prove attendance.
  • Both MPs and MEPs were paid travel expenses for journeys from constituencies to Parliament. Contrary to widespread rumours, MEPs received 'YY economy class' air fares paid, not first class, plus an allowance per kilometre for the trip from their home to the airport. Only one journey was allowed per week.
  • MPs were given first class rail tickets for spouse and children to Westminster up to thirty times per year. MEPs had no such allowance.
  • MPs were given two return tickets per year to any EU parliament or the European Parliament itself. MEPs had no such allowance.
  • MPs received unlimited travel expenses around the UK on parliamentary business. MEPs were given a similar allowance, but this was limited to £2,170 per year, plus an extra allowance if they needed to return home midweek.
  • MPs and MEPs both received an office allowance. MEPs were paid 44% more than MPs, but this had to include postage and all equipment, whereas MPs also received unlimited free postage and free computers.
  • MPs and MEPs both had a staff allowance. MEPs received 30% more than MPs, but their staffs are typically larger, and this amount had to cover staff pensions, temporary replacements for illness, redundancy costs at end of mandate, staff travel, insurance, administration, and employer's liability. MPs had those provided for free on top of their allowance.
  • At the end of their mandates, MPs received four months of office allowances, while MEPs received three.

MEPs' accounts are currently audited on a spot-check basis. (Feeling this to be insufficient, some members voluntarily submit their accounts for a full independent audit annually.)

Note: the expenses section is untrue - "right-wing press" indeed. Any GOOGLE search will show that the outrageous filght expenses scam still exists: the latest proposal to change it was vioted down in January 2004: an example:

http://www.dw-world.de/english/0,3367,1433_A_1098127_1_A,00.html

"Germany and three other EU states have blocked an attempt to reform the pay system for European parliamentarians, meaning it's now unlikely that a reform package will be passed before EU-wide elections in June.

Efforts to reform the European Parliament's pay system for its deputies have been under way since 1998. But there's still no end in sight, following the collapse of pay reform talks in Brussels on Monday.

The majority of members of the European parliament (MEP's) would welcome reforms. The system has earned itself a bad reputation for being open to fraud. The expenses system is not based on actual costs supported by receipts. An MEP who flies to Brussels with a budget airline, for example, could get away with claiming the highest air fare, thereby pocketing the difference."

(from article page, 21-04-2004)

[edit] Expenses re-added

I've restored the disputed expenses section, NPOVed as far as I can see. As discussed above, the list of what MEPs receive by way of expenses is purely factual, and, I think, useful to inform the debate. The surrounding comments need to be carefully NPOVed. I've added in a remark about the air-fare debate and also added some more detail about why reform hasn't yet taken place. All corrections, comments or edits are very welcome. Toby W 10:31, 27 Apr 2004 (UTC)

[edit] Length of Service

Only 14 of them [MEPs] have served continuously since the first elections in 1979, and not one has served continuously for longer. Am I not understanding this sentence right? The second clause seems redundant. How could any MEP have served continously for longer than from the first election until the present?

Because Parliament existed before there were elections. Back in the 50s and 60s, when Parliament had little legislative power, MEPs were delegated by national parliaments, not directly elected. Toby W 10:22, 20 Sep 2004 (UTC)

[edit] Salaries

Should the example salaries be in Euros instead of pounds? Just a crazy thought I had. RMG 02:22, 10 Oct 2004 (UTC)

Yes, I thought of that too. We could do a conversion, but the answers wouldn't be exactly right. Toby W 12:22, 11 Oct 2004 (UTC)
Actualy the salaries bit is just plain wrong. This used to be the case, but starting about a year ago, all MEPs are given the exact same salary! Wouter Lievens 23:12, 6 Feb 2005 (UTC)
It appears I am just plain wrong, as I continued to read the article :-) Wouter Lievens 23:20, 6 Feb 2005 (UTC)
Yeah I think it should be. Well, kind of. I think (this is my view on all Wikipedia currency usage) is that money should always be quoted in the currency it is/was actually dealt with in the situation in question. I also believe there should not be estimates, on anything but currency amounts in articles, which are in the majority of usage in that article. Just to use a working example, to clarify, this is how I view what this page should be written as: For all salaries write in the national currency, this should (if all salaries are listed) leave euro in the majority, and because of that, add bracket euro estimates after any currency amount which isn't euro. Any thoughts? - RHeodt 11:51, 17 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Minor confusion

The third paragraph reads "On the July 2009 European Parliament election," which reads ambiguously to me -- sounds like it's discussing the results of an election which hasn't happened yet. I just don't know enough about this topic to know what the proper simple copyedit would be. [[User:CatherineMunro|Catherine\talk]] 22:15, 24 Nov 2004 (UTC)

My edits today have fixed this. Thought, though: does the section about the number of MEPs belong on the European Parliament page rather than here? Toby W 22:35, 25 Nov 2004 (UTC)

[edit] More confusion

"MEPs are the European equivalents of a country's national parliamentary members..."

I don't know if people realize this, but there are more than a hundred million europeans that are not EU citizens. Not only in eastern Europe, but also in northern Europe and Switzerland (and the Vatican). EU is not Europe. I think that the centence above is misleading and untruthfull. --JJ-Hammer 12:53, 18 Apr 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Unencyclopaedic Language

This section "Generally speaking, the European Parliament has a remarkably high turnover of MEPs." seems inappropriate - the turnover will only seem high when compared with something (for example the UK Parliament) in which case we ought to say what it's being compared with. Can anyone suggest (or better still, implement) an alternative? The 'generally speaking' and 'remarbably' could probably be lost too! DavidFarmbrough 09:33, 4 January 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Quality of content

Some of the style here could be more polished/formal. Good info though. A bit about non-British MPs and MEPs might also be a welcome addition.

[edit] Fictional MEPs

Perhaps there could be bit at the bottom with a list of fictional MEPs? I know there's Alan B'Stard and those mentioned in the European Parliament and ALDE's comics (Troubled Waters & Operation Red Dragon respectively). There must be more, at least in Continental fiction and if not it's a starting point for when more are thought of or appear and saves having it on it's own list which would of course be pointless right now. 161.76.99.156 20:12, 11 February 2007 (UTC)

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