Brussels, 23/06/2005 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday the European Parliament adopted by a comfortable majority (409 votes for, 89 against with 92 abstentions) the report of Giuseppe Gargani (EPP/ED, Italy) on MEPs' status, and subsequently made a decisive step in the controversial debate which began during the first European elections at universal suffrage in 1979. MEPs will, from 2009, receive a monthly salary of EUR 7000 with expenses reimbursed on the basis of receipts. Member States, if they wish, can benefit from a transition period that could last until 2019 to continue to align remuneration of an MEP on that of a national MPs. The Council is expected to ratify the EP agreement next week.
Nicolas Schmit said that they were finishing their work at the European Parliament with great success, which is the result of a long process and a lot of work. The Luxembourg minister for European affairs thanked the Italian, Irish, and Dutch presidencies for their work, “sometimes we need a lot of time, sometimes too much…but if the political will is there to find a compromise, we can get there”. Schmit hopes that this advance will be a lesson on other cases (reference to financial perspectives at the last European Council). He believes that “Europe continues and must continue to show citizens that he have heard some of their messages and lessons and that we are at their service to make Europe more transparent, more democratic and efficient”. He concluded that the adoption of the status for MEPs is part of this approach. Asked about the possibility of too much bureaucracy being provoked by the new reimbursement system, the president of the European Parliament, declared, “I don't know, perhaps there will be but it shouldn't be too much, taking into account the importance of the agreement for understanding how we work”. In a press release, Giuseppe Gargani welcomes the positive outcome of the vote and considers that the statute is an “important pillar of the integration process”. Henceforth, “MEPs become the representatives of all European citizens and are no longer national representatives”, he said with delight.
With the new system, MEPs will be remunerated from the European budget. As a complement to the European tax that will be levied on salaries, Member States may apply a national taxation regime so that MEPs do not earn more than a prime minister or anyone holding a more prestigious political function. The statute also brings in a common regime for retirement. The retirement age is fixed at 63 and pensions will be fully taken in charge by the EP.
At present, MEPs receive the same salary as national MEPs in their countries of origin. With enlargement, salary differences have become considerably greater with an MEP originating from Italy earning a salary of EUR 11,000 while his/her Hungarian counterpart earns less than EUR 800. Furthermore, reimbursement of travelling costs is on a lump sum basis, without having to present receipts. “We voted in favour of an identical salary for identical work”, British Liberal Diana Wallis said in a press release, adding that a transparent allowance system based on real costs has finally been found so that improvements can be made to the way things function, thus remedying one of the constant causes of public criticism.