Brussels, 31/03/2009 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission does not feel that there is any need to amend the rules on transitional allowances paid to former commissioners, for the simple reason that the rules were set by the member states. The Commission, then, applies the rules, said the Commission spokesman on Monday 30 March.
When a commissioner leaves office, he/she receives an allowance. The size of this allowance depends on the length of time served. It is, the Commission says, to help the commissioner return to normal working life. When a commissioner reaches the legal retirement age of 65, he/she receives a pension. Allowances are payable for a limited period and relate to the length of time served as a commissioner. European commissioners' transitional allowances on leaving office vary between 40% and 65% of their basic salary (€19,909 before tax) for three years. The Commission said that there is a cap on these allowances when a commissioner takes up paid employment (so as not to exceed the salary of a commissioner). The system applied to European commissioners is not unusual (it is similar to what happens in national civil services), the Commission says, pointing out that the obligation of secrecy and discretion restricts the range of possible activities after being a European commissioner.
Some media and the British Eurosceptic think tank “Open Europe” have recently expressed their indignation with this system, which allows former commissioners, such as Peter Mandelson of the UK and Franco Frattini of Italy, to continue to receive considerable sums of money from the Commission even though they immediately became ministers in their own home countries. Frattini left his post of Justice Commissioner in spring 2008 to become Italy's Foreign Minister. His colleague in Health, Markos Kyprianou of Cyprus, resigned at roughly the same time to become Cypriot Foreign Minister. Mandelson, who held the post of Trade Commissioner until autumn 2008, left office to become Business Minister in the UK government. (L.C./transl.rt)