Deadlock in talks on statute for MEPs

Date: 02/12/1999

By Gareth Harding

MEPS and EU governments are no closer to a deal on a common statute for members of the European Parliament, six months after the assembly rejected all the changes made to its proposed text by the Council of Ministers.

Diplomats say there has been "no movement" in the negotiations since June's Euro-elections. "I do not think we can solve this, it is way too political," said one. Another claimed that the talks had actually "moved backward" since the Parliament threw out Council's revised rulebook for MEPs in May.

The Finnish presidency will make one last push to break the logjam at a meeting of EU foreign ministers next Monday (6 December). However, the chances of a last-minute deal are slim given the divisions within the Council and Parliament and the gulf which still separates the two sides.

"The problem lies largely with Council, because they cannot make up their minds about the most basic things," claimed a spokesman for centre-right European People's Party (EPP).

EU governments are split over whether MEPs should be able to hold more than one political post and whether countries should be allowed to impose a top-up levy to ensure Euro-deputies do not pay less tax than their national counterparts.

But the Parliament is also far from united over the issue. Despite the huge majority in favour of German Christian Democrat Willi Rothley's hardline stance in May, the Liberals, Greens and a growing number of Socialists are now in favour of reaching a deal with the Council.

The issue is further complicated by the agreement struck between the EPP and Liberals after the elections, under which the Liberals promised to support the centre-right's candidate for Parliament president in return for an agreement to sort out the statute by the end of this year. Despite this, the two parties are still deeply divided over the issue and joint proposals for a common statute remain a long way off.

Finland's European Affairs Minister Kimmo Sasi went some way towards pacifying MEPs last week when he acknowledged that a transitional period would be needed to "protect those members who stand to lose" from new rules on taxes, pensions and expenses. There are also hopes that the Parliament's new members, who make up more than half of the assembly, will prove less resistant to change than the old batch.

In the meantime, however, the two sides have taken to trading insults rather than attempting to make any real progress. One diplomat claimed that the Parliament's chief negotiators saw their main role as "defending their colleagues interests and stalling the whole process", while a Parliament official said there was "no point producing another document when the Council is in such disarray".

The situation was perhaps best summed up by a Socialist MEP who confessed: "Our position is ridiculous, but so is theirs."

MEPs and EU governments are no closer to a deal on a common statute for members of the European Parliament, six months after the assembly rejected all the changes made to its proposed text by the Council of Ministers.