Significant progress made towards deal on MEPs’ statute

Date: 18/05/2000

By Gareth Harding

PORTUGUESE European Affairs Minister Francisco Seixas de Costa will deliver an upbeat report to foreign ministers next week on the progress made towards drawing up a rule book governing how MEPs are taxed, paid and pensioned.

Sixth months ago, the European Parliament and EU governments were at loggerheads over the issue, but diplomats say enormous progress has been made since then and a deal should be wrapped up before the end of this year.

"The psychological environment is completely different from last year," said one. "Everyone is moving from their previous positions towards a third way."

There has even been some movement on the handful of issues which led the Parliament to reject the changes governments made to its draft statute last May. The two sides appear to be edging towards a compromise on how MEPs' income should be taxed under which European rates, which tend to be lower than national levels, would be levied but members would still have to pay local and regional taxes where they are resident. Parliamentarians also appear ready to accept that expenses should be reimbursed on the basis of actual costs and that they should contribute to their generous pensions scheme.

However, moves to set a common salary for all MEPs are being held up by delays in completing a comparative study of members' pay and that of diplomats, politicians and senior civil servants - and many MEPs are becoming increasingly impatient for change. "This endless prevarication does the Parliament no good at all," said UK Labour group leader Simon Murphy.