Breakthrough on MEPs’ pay and expenses dubbed ‘best Christmas present’ of all

By Martin Banks

Date: 27/11/03

A LANDMARK deal on the MEPs' statute - the rules governing the way deputies are paid - appears likely after a breakthrough in the European Parliament's legal affairs committee.

Members of the committee agreed yesterday (26 November) to drop their opposition to three unresolved issues linked to pay and conditions: Parliamentary immunity, MEPs' taxation and pensions.

The breakthrough means that, after years of haggling, the long-awaited statute is now likely to be adopted, possibly as soon as the end of the year. This prompted Dutch Socialist Michiel van Hulten, of the Campaign for Parliamentary Reform, to declare: "It's the best Christmas present we could have had."

The legal affairs committee will meet again on 1-2 December and is likely to vote in favour of the compromise proposals tabled by German Socialist deputy Willi Rothley, Parliament's rapporteur on the statute.

This means that in future MEPs will pay a European income tax, similar to that of officials in the European Commission. The rate works out at around one-third of an MEP's salary.

However, if they so wish, member states will be able to opt out of this arrangement and make their MEPs pay national rates of tax. Currently, only the UK, Denmark, Finland and Sweden apply this opt-out.

Another key aspect of the deal is the retirement age for MEPs. The Parliament had been pressing for this to be 60, member states preferred 65. The committee is expected to settle on 63.

MEPs have also indicated they will not link the pay and expenses question to the vexed issue of Parliamentary immunity and privileges.

Members have already provisionally accepted a deal on the thorny issue of pay and expenses. In May, Parliament's bureau (the president and vice-presidents) recommended that MEPs should receive half the rate of a judge in the European Court of Justice, around €8,500 a month, or €96,000 per annum.

At present, MEPs' pay is linked to that of their counterparts in national assemblies.

This has resulted in large disparities. For instance, Spanish members earn only €30,000 per year, while Austrian, German and Italian deputies receive more than treble that sum.

The current system also allows MEPs to claim for full-price air fares without providing proof of expenditure. In future, though, they will be obliged to produce a ticket stating how much they paid.

Critics of the system, such as UK premier Tony Blair, have warned that the Parliament will never be taken seriously until it shakes up the much-abused regime and dumps its "gravy- train" image.

The statute deal was made possible after mostly German MEPs agreed to water-down their opposition after coming under intense recent pressure in the media. All 626 MEPs may now get the chance to vote on the new rules at the Strasbourg plenary on 15 December.

The proposals still have to be approved by national governments, but there is a real possibility the statute will be finalized before the end of the Italian presidency, paving the way for it to be adopted well before next June's European elections.

Parliament's President Pat Cox had made the statute the number-one priority of his 30-month presidency, saying it was vital towards mustering support for a newly enlarged EU.

Rapporteur Willi Rothley commented: "It's a compromise but one which I find acceptable."

Van Hulten said: "This effectively removes the remaining stumbling blocks that stand in the way of approval of the statute and sends an important message to voters ahead of next year's elections.

"Rothley's informal compromise was supported by everyone in the committee except two fellow German members. It shows he is now taking a personal political risk and is prepared to defy even some of his closest colleagues to see this proposal through. For that, he deserves credit."

UK Socialist MEP Bill Miller said: "This is a huge step forward and I'm delighted. None of us wanted to go into next year's elections having to justify our pay and expenses."

http://europarl.europa.eu/committees/juri_home.htm http://europarl.europa.eu/committees/juri_home.htm

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