Tonio Borg may have ended his term in Brussels two years ago but he is one of 16 former European Commissioners benefitting from a lucrative transition allowance.

He was mentioned in a list drawn up by the Brussels-based online news portal Politico as still benefitting from the allowance that tots up to more than €8,000 per month. The portal was quoting German weekly newspaper Die Zeit.

When contacted by this newspaper Dr Borg confirmed that he was still in receipt of the allowance and will continue receiving it until October next year.

This allowance is paid for three years and has been part of EU law since 1967

He said his allowance was €7,000 per month since he had only been a commissioner for two years.

“This allowance is paid for three years and has been part of EU law since 1967,” he said.

The allowance is intended to help outgoing EU executives transition to ordinary life. The current Prime Minister of Romania, Dacian Ciolo, who was a commissioner during Dr Borg’s term, also receives the allowance. Recent changes have reduced the payment period to two years.

Dr Borg became European Commissioner in November 2012, replacing John Dalli, who was kicked out after an investigation by the EU’s anti-fraud agency, OLAF, implicated him in the snus scandal. His term ended in 2014.

Dr Borg said the transition allowance allowed former commissioners to work as long as what was earned did not surpass the wage of a European Commissioner.

“As you know, that is a bit difficult to reach [the wage of a European Commissioner] but every time I took up paid work, such as lecturing at the University of Malta, I informed the Commission as I was duty-bound,” he said.

European Commissioners earn a basic salary of €20,666 per month, excluding allowances and other perks.

The German newspaper was critical of some commissioners who were still in receipt of the allowance despite taking up high profile lucrative jobs in the private sector.

The names on the list include Belgian Karel De Gucht, currently on the supervisory board of steel company ArcelorMittal and telecommunication company Proximus, and Dane Connie Hedegaard, a member of the supervisory board of energy company Danfoss.

kurt.sansone@timesofmalta.com