Funferal

EU Parliament salaries reformed

The EU Parliament has finally voted to reform the salary scale and expenses system for MEPs. Up to now MEPs have had salaries equivalent to those of national representatives in their countries, which has meant extremely wide variances in pay levels. In order, in part, to alleviate this MEPs have also had an expenses system that allowed them to claim the full cost of business-class travel to Brussels, whether they flew business-class or not. The understanding, I’m told, was that those on lower incomes would fly economy and collect the business-class fare as a means to make up the difference.
It was this complex system that led attempts, earlier this year, to reform the salary system to falter – various MEPs refused to accept pay reform until the expenses system was fixed. Now that has been done. Most MEPs see a gain (the new level is around the same as Irish and UK MEPs had previously received, which says something about TD salaries) but Italian MEPs, in particular, see a fall in income.
Part of the reform is that salaries are now met by the EU rather than by individual countries. One of the interesting quirks is that MEPS from some Eastern European countries, such as Estonia or Hungary, now earn several multiples what national representatives do (€7,000 per month as opposed ot €840 per month in the case of Hungary). What this might do to the dynamics of national politics in these countries I’m unsure.