With just one month to go before the European elections, the latest analysis by Transparency International EU (TI EU) of MEPs’ declarations of private interests, published on Monday 6 May, reveals the extent of the income earned on the side by Members of the European Parliament.
70% of MEPs have a side activity and more than a quarter of them earn money from these activities. In total, MEPs earn €8.7 million a year outside their democratic mandates, according to the organisation.
This represents a total of 1,751 side activities, an average of two per MEP.
All MEPs earn around €120,000 a year, not including allowances, for their work. “Not only does this blur the lines between personal interests and political priorities, but it also invites questions about the true motivations behind MEPs’ actions”, according to TI EU.
The analysis reveals that MEPs from the centre, the right and the far right (Renew Europe, EPP, ECR, ID) are more likely to have paid parallel activities and earn more money on average than those on the left of the hemicycle.
The MEPs with the highest earnings include Manfred Weber (EPP, German) with 13 activities earning €170,640, José Manuel García-Margallo (EPP, Spanish) with 10 activities earning €143,950 and Guy Verhofstadt (Renew Europe, Belgian) with 8 activities earning €132,000.
Link to the data: https://aeur.eu/f/c30 (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)