Brussels, 27/01/2004 (Agence Europe) - There was a general outcry from most MEPs (who will be discussing the matter in plenary in Brussels on Wednesday: see EUROPE above) after a Council agreement on the statute of MEPs was blocked by four countries - Germany, Austria, France and Sweden.
After President Cox, the president of the Socialist Group, Enrique Baron, protested by recalling the time and energy that the Parliament has devoted for years to this issue (an effort which has resulted in the adoption of the Rothley report). The Spanish socialist said he did not understand how countries that want a vanguard for European construction can be opposed to a legislation that would improve the perception that the public has of the role of MEPs. The same disappointment is felt by Liberal Diana Wallis, who said ministers have missed an opportunity to clarify the issue of MEPs' salaries and expenditure. The fight for a system founded on "equal pay for equal work with a travel expenses system based on reimbursement of real costs" will go on, the British Liberal Democrat promised, while admitting that such a campaign "is hard". German Christian Democrat Werner Langen considers that, despite the Council failure, the current rules on lump reimbursement of travelling costs cannot be maintained for the next legislature and that the EP Bureau should therefore discuss modernising this system on the basis of proposals already examined.
One discordant voice was, however, raised - that of Jens-Peter Bonde, Danish President of the EDD Group. He said he was pleased that the Council had rejected "harmonisation" of MEPs' salaries. In his view, MEPs should have the same salary as members of their national parliament.