Europarlementariërs stemmen in met nieuw salaris (en)

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The European Parliament has passed the new statute for its members, scrapping the pay discrepancies among the MEPs and flat-rate travel allowances.

In a vote at a plenary mini-session in Brussels on Thursday (23 June), MEPs supported the new rules by 403, with 89 votes against and 92 abstentions.

The statute provides the same salary - around 7000 euro - for all the deputies, which will be paid out from the EU budget.

The figure means a considerable boost for the members from some poorer countries in central and eastern Europe, while Italian MEPs might lose out by around 5000 euro per month comparing to their current salaries.

The new rules will come into force in 2009, with the new composition of the parliament.

But the member states can still opt for the current provisions for as long as two parliamentary terms - until 2019.

According to diplomats, only the Italian government showed serious discontent with the future pay arrangements when the member states were debating the statute earlier this year, and is likely to opt for a ten-year transitional period.

However, French media also reported Paris might apply it, to avoid criticism for pay differences between national and European deputies of the French citizens.

The member states that decide to do so will pay their MEPs from their national purse.

Receipts to be kept

The parliamentarians have overwhelmingly supported the statute and its provisions, calling them more just and transparent.

From 2009 onwards, the MEPs will have to give out all the receipts for their travels and most of their expenses, instead of getting flat-rate advance allowances, based on the distance, not the actual cost.

But some deputies pointed out that while the system may be more transparent, it is not yet clear whether it will also lead to the cost reductions favouring the EU budget.

"It is a clever thing to buy tickets in advance, as they are cheaper and for now, the difference makes it for the MEPs' benefit. But with the new rules, people will not have such a motivation to travel more economically, and so will not bother," said the Slovak MEP Sergej Kozlik, ex-Finance Minister.