Strasbourg, 28/09/2007 (Agence Europe) - European Ombudsman Nikifouros Diamandouros has asked the European Parliament (EP) to accept a request for public access to details of the payments received by Members of the European Parliament (MEPs), including general expenditure, travel and subsistence allowances, as well as allowances for the MEPs' assistants. This follows a complaint from a Maltese journalist, whose request for details of certain MEPs' allowances was rejected by the EP. The EP justified its refusal on the grounds of data protection. After consulting the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS), the Ombudsman has concluded that the public has the right to access information about MEPs' allowances. He has invited the EP to submit a detailed opinion by 31 December 2007.
In August 2005, a journalist for MaltaToday asked the EP for access to data detailing the EP's payments to its five Maltese MEPs. The request was rejected and the journalist lodged a complaint with the European Ombudsman, arguing that taxpayers should have a right to scrutinise the use that MEPs, who are public personalities, make of their contributions.
The Ombudsman's findings in this case can be read at:
http: //ombudsman.europa.eu/recommen/en/053643.htm (oj)