MEPS increase their staff expenses allowance by €1,500 a month
MEP's yesterday approved an increase of €9.4 million for this year's European Parliament budget, adding €1,500 a month to their staff expenses allowance.
MEPs receive €17,540 a month, over and above their salary and a raft of other allowances, to recruit staff for their political offices both in Brussels and in their constituency.
With the enactment of the Lisbon Treaty earlier this year, MEPs argued that staff allowance had to reflect the "added responsibility" they shouldered and, therefore, the need to be able to hire more staff.
This latest increase, which comes amid calls for restraint among EU member states due to the recession and the global financial turmoil, will see MEPs staff allowances this year rise to €19,040 a month. The money does not go directly into the MEPs pockets but is used to pay for the hiring of staff and consultants.
The decision was approved during a vote in Strasbourg with 509 votes in favour, 111 against and 31 abstentions. All five Maltese MEPs voted in favour and the Liberals and the British Conservatives voted against.
Beyond this year, MEPs are already lobbying with the Commission and member states for another €1,500 monthly increase in next year's budget, bringing the total staff allowances to €20,540 a month. The argument is that the €3,000 monthly rise in staff allowance (for 2010 and 2011) will make it possible for them to recruit an extra full-time assistant each.
With the latest increases, the EP budget for 2010 will stand at €1.706 billion.
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Paul Caruana
May 21st 2010, 17:57
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/22/20100521/tuk-uk-britain-politics-fa6b408.html Government clamps down on ministers' perks And the shameless MEP's increased theirs!!
C Bonnici
May 21st 2010, 16:20
This increase apart from many other cejciet. Example: Some time ago Rai3's programme Report said that the families of MEP all benefitted from a free Settimana Bianca.
Evarist Saliba
May 21st 2010, 15:30
What an example!
The EU tells (or rather forces) its member states to put their house in order. It wants to examine their budgets before they are presented to their elected parliaments.
But it excludes itself from such measures in spite of the fact that its auditors have repeatedly pointed out gross mismangement of the ever-increasing funds at its disposal.
If credibility in the EU is suffering and the EURO is in danger (as German Chancellor Merkel is saying), this is not due only to lip-service to their EU commitments by some member states, but also to mismanagement by the unelected Brussels bureaucracy, and the extravagance of the Eurpean parliament.
Gerard Cassar
May 21st 2010, 15:23
In the U.K. members of Parliament have accepted to reduce their remuneration. In France Sarkozy cabinet have definitely reduced theirs too.
Louis Gialanze
May 21st 2010, 15:08
They get all the perks and us mortals pick up the bills!
Joe Bugeja
May 21st 2010, 14:50
Have a look at all these headings. And they expect us to tighten our belt? HYPOCRITES that;'s what they are.
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20100521/local/press-digest
joe falzon
May 21st 2010, 14:45
sheeesh! I often have to dish out the money to get photocopies for school lessons! and the education dept. doesn't even reimburse us for the ferry when attending in-service courses! money ceases to exist only when it comes to the little guy!! to screw or to be screwed --- that is the question!
J Farrugia
May 21st 2010, 14:35
This is truly obscene. No wonder people all over europe do not have any faith in our Parlamentarians especially those in the useless European Parliament. The British Government reduced the salaries of all its minister and once more the useless EP add expenses to its own members. Rotten deal.
Charles Sammut
May 21st 2010, 14:28
Il-huta min rasha tinten.
c. camilleri
May 21st 2010, 14:27
The members of the party that oppose everything only, the party of NO, only agrees to things that suit their pockets both here and abroad.
Joe Camilleri
May 21st 2010, 13:19
Emm....... When can the common Joe vote for an increase in his salary???
John Zarb
May 21st 2010, 13:07
MEP salaries are recession proof I am am sure they living the good life galore, like all the people working in the EU gravy train...At least Busuttil made his office public and we know that the € 19,040 are being divided amongst a considerable number of people, mathematically showing that each of them is getting a fair salary.
http://www.simonbusuttil.eu/default.asp?module=content&ID=393
As to the others only god knows where this money is going to...
Mario Sammut
May 21st 2010, 12:57
It wont be long before The Euro collapses preceded by the collapse of the Greek economy. The EU is nothing but a big beurocratic club stage managed by Germany and France who think that they can compete with the USA. Before long the Euro will be in the past because it simply will not be attractive enough for investors. Greece will be the first country to revert back to its own currency the Drachma. In the meantime the fact cats sucking this beaurocratic club dry will get richer and richer at our expense .
lgalea
May 21st 2010, 14:44
The ONLY way is OUT of the eu before we become more bankrupt if that is possible than we presently are.
Anthony Farrugia
May 21st 2010, 15:44
Mr Igalea : Where would we be out of the EU and out of the Eurozone ? Would the LM (Malta Pound) have finished as in the Weimar Republic in the 1920s paying for a loaf of bread with LM10,000,000 and rampant hyper-inflation , massive unemployment and a bloated public sector as in October 1986! You are always preaching about getting out of the EU but you have never put forward what the alternatives - if any exist - would be.
John Ebejer
May 21st 2010, 19:18
It shows that the PL diehards are still adamantly against EU membership.
Benjamin Pule'
May 21st 2010, 12:48
I think that this is outrageous! MEPs should have absorbed those €1,500 from their own salaries which amount to round about €90,000. This is only said in the light of the global economic crisis, because I do believe that it is important that MEPs (as any elected people's representatives) should get a salary which reflects their work away from their professional career as well as serving as an incentive to keep them away from corrupt practices.
The British Conservatives are proving to be one of the few political parties in Europe who are actively and effectively addressing cost-cutting in the public expenditure. We saw last week, that PM David Cameron reduced the Ministerial pays by 5% meaning that he will now earn approximately £9,000 less.
I think that this is the way to go and unfortunately it can't be the same for Malta because Ministerial pays in Malta are not sufficiently high.
Lorraine Vella
May 21st 2010, 12:46
what a shame and disgrace!!! MEPs receive an allowance worth of a year's wages here... add thier salary and other allowances!!! shame and shame. esp at such a time when europe is in the state it is!!! u le le
VICTOR RODENAS
May 21st 2010, 12:41
ALL 5 MALTESE MEP`S VOTED IN FAVOUR.................WOW........THINGS SEEMS TO BE CHANGING.
Peter Korsten
May 21st 2010, 12:41
It's an increase of less than €0.03 per annum per EU citizen, but still, the EP has managed to shoot itself in the foot again. Good thing that I vote liberal.
Marius Zulgis
May 21st 2010, 12:38
UK Politicians are an example to their European countrparts, not just in the EU but at home. Bravo and may this be a sign of things to come.
People are sick of tightening their belts while some MEPS milk the system. Whatever happened to leading by example?
I for one am completely disillusioned by politicians who serve themselves first and the people last.
Anthony Farrugia
May 21st 2010, 15:07
FTSE has just gone under 5000 threshold! We are all in the same boat !
david calleja
May 21st 2010, 12:38
This just adds insult to injury.... apart from the rest of Europe being asked to bite the bullet and face the ''pain'' we need to sort out problems that mostly were caused by these people in the first place, i read recently that apparently, the EU's auditors have refused to sign off the books for around five years now.... when will we ever learn, apparently it's only the British Tories and Lib Dems who are against this....what a farce!!
r ferriggi
May 21st 2010, 12:31
speaking of politicians and representatives leadng by example...........
and then they expect the people to make sacrifices.
i used to question WHY the Geek people are seemingly sabotaging their own country.
their excuse is that they have been robbed by thier politicians, representatives.
when you hear of these perks tothese MEPs,,,,,, the Greek peoples greviances do not seem so extreme!!
J Brincat
May 21st 2010, 12:29
It is better for EU to get its acts in order than further pampering its MEP's!
Who pays at the end?
g ellul
May 21st 2010, 12:27
Oops, sorry...only now I read that there were some votes against....love the British!
Andrew Gatt
May 21st 2010, 12:24
"All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others" George Orwell
These EU piggies sure have their snouts firmly embedded in the gravy trough!
g ellul
May 21st 2010, 12:24
Bet it was a unanimous vote...!!
cmicallef
May 21st 2010, 12:16
Oh Well Done, we're trying to tighten belts to pay off for Greek corruption and our MEP's vote themselves an increase to pay for more bureaucratics!! makes absolute financial sense!
Anthony Formosa
May 21st 2010, 12:15
With the latest increases, the EP budget for 2010 will stand at €1.706 billion.
And poverty is on the increase in the EU and around the world. U il-Gahan ta poplu ihallas, mhux ta bxjen kullhadd issa irid johrog mil-UE.
John Ebejer
May 21st 2010, 18:31
Ibda semmili, imma bil-fatti u bir-referenzi - jekk xejn, ha narak kemm inti kapaci tissustanzja dak li qed tghid! - min irid johrog mill-UE. Ejja ... ha naraw kemm int kapaci!
P. Gatt
May 21st 2010, 12:14
Wow, just wow. MEP is probably the most lucrative position one can aspire to. Pity the positions are filled based on a bipartisan popularity contest rather than on skill or merit.
PM Camilleri
May 21st 2010, 12:23
Well said!
M Borg
May 21st 2010, 12:09
First all of them ask us to make sacrifices, tighten the belt etc etc..then they all get an increase in allowance...the only thing we got an increase was in sacrifices! They should seriously start to consider cost cutting measures from under their nose..not eat a Michelin star restaurants!
Tony Stivala
May 21st 2010, 12:07
What bull is this? when yesterday Merkel warned that the Euro is in danger of disentigrating. NO MORALITY what so ever
B sant
May 21st 2010, 12:05
its a perfect example of cost cutting.... while europe drowns
12 points!!!!!!!
Edward Fenech
May 21st 2010, 11:57
Exemplary! Well done!