| Author (Person) | Davies, Eric | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Publisher | ProQuest Information and Learning | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Series Details | 2.2.04 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Publication Date | 02/02/2004 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Content Type | News, Overview, Topic Guide | In Focus | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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A meeting of the General Affairs Council on 26 January 2004 failed to approve a proposed Statute intended to resolve the long-running dispute over MEPs salaries and expenses. Although the European Parliament had itself sanctioned the proposal by a majority of two to one, the reforms proved not to be acceptable to Ministers of four Member States. The Financial Times described the vote as 'a fitting symbol of how narrow-minded and populist European politics has become.' It now seems highly unlikely that a deal will be reached to rid the European Parliament of its 'gravy train' image prior to the EP elections in June. Background Concern has been expressed for many years over the remuneration and expenses systems which apply to Members of the European Parliament (MEPs). As regards pay, the current system treats each MEP as though he or she were a national Member of Parliament, with his or her salary being paid from government coffers at the rate applicable to Members of Parliament. Whilst having the benefit of ensuring parity between MEPs and MPs, this system clearly creates differences between MEPs from different Member States. In the 15-member Union, the biggest pay gap quoted is between MEPs from Italy, who earn some €11,000 each month, and those from Spain who receive just €2,600. (Details of pay are not readily available, but BBC News Online presented an informative graphic in its article Germany blocks MEP pay rises). Enlargement to 25 members will make the gulf even wider, with some new MEPs - such as those from Hungary - earning as little as €800 per month. The proposals just rejected by Ministers would have established a monthly salary of €8,500 for all MEPs. All but those from Italy would thus have seen their salaries rise. However, because of proposed reforms on expenses and allowances, many MEPs stood to see their incomes fall. An entirely legal system of claiming expenses has for years allowed any MEPs so inclined to claim for travel expenses which they have not actually incurred. Cases are quoted of MEPs claiming business-class air fares while actually buying cheap tickets, and of claiming allowances for attending meetings which they haven't been at. Lax controls have made it too easy for those who wish to 'top up' their incomes, leading to accusations that the European Parliament is little more than a 'gravy train' and that MEPs are defrauding Europe's taxpayers. The current rules date back to 1965 and have attracted criticism since the first direct elections to the European Parliament in 1979. It was not until the mid-1990s, however, that sufficient pressure was brought to bear on Parliament and the Member States to reform the system. (Resistance to reform has come from both MEPs - some of whom allegedly derive significant financial benefits from the current system - and from Member States' governments, which have argued - amongst other things - against a single salary for all MEPs, preferring to link MEPs salaries to those of national MPs). In December 1996, the European Ombudsman opened an investigation into MEPs allowances, after receiving complaints that 'the allowances system was being used to give MEPs extra pay, contrary to the rule that MEPs are paid by the Member State from which they are elected' (see European Ombudsman: European Ombudsman welcomes Parliament's reform of the allowances system). In 1997 the European Court of Auditors (ECA) started an investigation (see European Voice: 1998 also saw the Danish MEP Bertel Haarder gain backing for a common Statute and a reformed allowances regime, which had until then been seen as 'a somewhat unrealistic goal' (European Voice: Since then, a number of European Parliament Presidents - including the current holder, Pat Cox - and several Presidencies of the Council of the EU have stressed the importance of reaching agreement on the issue. Success looked possible in 1999, but a package put together by Willi Rothley MEP was criticised by Foreign Ministers and subsequently rejected by MEPs (European Voice: The year 2000 witnessed further disappointments, initially with MEPs disagreeing over a proposal which would have given a majority of them more pay, while at the same time reforming the expenses system (European Voice: The latter proposal also failed because some Member States were adamant that MEPs should pay national taxes, rather than - or in addition to - a 'Community tax'. As an article in European Voice put it: 'Member states will claim that any collapse is a result of greed on the part of MEPs who are demanding both a huge salary and generous expenses. But the intransigence of some EU governments over whether parliamentarians should be subject to some national taxes as well as the Union levy means member states face a nightmare scenario in which they get no deal and are blamed for derailing the talks' ( Although significant, 'pay and perks' are not the only issues addressed by the proposed Statute for Members of the European Parliament. A text adopted by Parliament in June 2003 - again compiled by Willi Rothley MEP - also covered retirement age, tax arrangements, and privileges and immunities. Under that proposal (adopted on 3 June by 294 votes to 171, with 59 abstentions) all MEPs would receive a gross monthly salary of €8,500, funded from the EU budget. Community tax would be paid by all MEPs and their pensionable would be 60. With reference to expenses, MEPs would in principle be 'entitled to the reimbursement of costs incurred in the exercise of their mandate and ... Parliament should determine those cases in which reimbursement may consist of a flat-rate sum.' The proposal would also ensure 'that Members can work without fear of prosecution for any action taken as part of their duties'. To avoid the sort of post-enlargement scenarios in which MEPs from the new Member States would suddenly be earning more than their Prime Ministers, the draft Statute allowed for transitional periods during which 'new Member States will be entitled to adopt rules which differ from the provisions of the Statute as regards remuneration, transitional allowances, pensions, etc., provided that those rules place their MEPs on at least an equal footing with their national counterparts.' The debate preceding adoption of the text attracted contributions from a number of MEPs, including: Dr Manuel Medina Ortega: 'As the rapporteur [Mr Rothley] has said, the aim here is essentially to create a Statute that allows Members of the European Parliament to be recognised, not as an extension of the various national parliaments, but as representatives of the peoples of the European Union as a whole.' Diana Wallis: 'There will have to be some compromise and understanding on all sides. What we will have finally established, the big prize, is a single statute for MEPs. This is our last chance. It was hard enough to get here, and the circumstances will not arise again. We have a chance for interest in this House to focus on our work and not our pockets. ... our time could be much better employed on other legislative work which directly benefits all Europe's citizens.' Rijk van Dam: 'What is really important is that all Members receive equal remuneration. As far as we are concerned, reimbursing travel costs on the basis of the costs actually incurred is even more important. ... 25 years after the first direct elections, it is high time we cut the Gordian knot on this issue; it is high time we put the interests of Parliament's work above our personal interests.' Having adopted the draft Statute, Parliament voted on 4 June in favour of asking the Council to also approve it. Ministers, however, disagreed with the proposal on three grounds: retirement age, tax arrangements and the inclusion in the draft Statute 'of matters relating to the privileges and immunities of Members'. Parliament's response was discussed on 3 December, when the Committee on Legal Affairs was presented with a compromise text by Mr Rothley, following discussions by him with the Presidency of the Council. The revised text increased the pensionable age to 63, allowed Member States 'to tax MEPs' salaries under national tax law, provided there were no double taxation', and called for the 1965 Protocol on Privileges and Immunities to be amended. The revisions were adopted by Parliament on 17 December 'by a large majority', with President Pat Cox thanking Willi Rothley MEP, the Rapporteur 'who has worked for years on a solution to the question' (European Parliament: Daily Notebook: Common statute for MEPs in sight at last). When Foreign Ministers met on 26 January, however, they failed to adopt the revised Statute. In the words of the BBC: 'Germany has blocked a big pay rise for most members of the European Parliament, that would have seen euro-MPs from new member states in eastern Europe earn more than their prime ministers' (Germany blocks MEP pay rises). The view of the Financial Times was that 'Germany, France, Sweden and Austria opposed the change for mixed reasons. The vote was a fitting symbol of how narrow-minded and populist European politics has become' (LEADER: How to pay MEPs). The FT did note that 'Germany - in particular - did not see why MEPs should be paid more to give up an indefensible expenses regime' (EU ministers block deal to curb expenses at parliament) - although other commentators suggested that Germany did not want to antagonise its own MEPs by approving changes which could see them lose out financially. The Irish Presidency was reportedly doubtful that agreement could now be reached ahead of June's European elections. Further information within European Sources Online European Sources Online: Topic Guides
European Sources Online: Financial Times
European Sources Online: European Voice
Further information can be seen in these external links: EU Institutions European Parliament
Council of the European Union
European Ombudsman
European Court of Auditors
Media organisations BBC News Online
Eric Davies Background and reporting on the week's main stories in the European Union and the wider Europe |
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| Subject Categories | Politics and International Relations | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
