Europarlementariërs krijgen gelijk salaris (en)

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The European Parliament today agreed a compromise text on the controversial issue of MEPs pay - paving the way for equal pay for all deputies as well as a more transparent system of travel expenses.

The historic deal which saw 345 votes in favour, 94 against and 88 abstentions

resolves the key hurdle that was preventing member states from giving their go-ahead.

Today's vote opens up the possibility that the Statute could be agreed before the next parliamentary elections in June; for this, member states would have to accept the proposed compromise by mid-January.

This would end 25 years of difficult negotiation.

Following reservations by member states, MEPs agreed to increase their pension age from 60 to 63, and left it up to the EU states whether to impose their national tax regime on top of the lower Community tax - as long as there is no double taxation.

An agreement on the statute would also pave the way for the reform of the MEPs lavish perk system, as the European Parlament has tied these two issues together.

Presently MEPs get a big lump sum each time they travel to Brussels or Strasbourg, irrespective of the actual cost of the ticket.

But with the reform of this system, their expenses would be based on actual costs backed up by receipts.

"Parliament today has voted wisely and well. We have voted by an overwhelming majority to recommend terms for reform which I believe commend themselves to the Council of Ministers", European parliament President Pat Cox said after the vote.

"This vote is a contract of engagement by the Parliament and if it is positively responded to by the Council it will become a contract of law. We have had a vote today of considerable significance, the next phase of play is delicate but I believe we can succeed", he added.

Some more equal than others

The Statute would set a common salary of 8,500 euro per month for all deputies and so remove the huge discrepancies that currently exist.

MEPs are paid the same basic salary as a national parliamentarian from their own country - while Italians receive almost 11,000 euro per month, Spaniards get 2,600 euro.

Inequalities amongst the deputies would be even more pronounced after the next elections with MEPs from the 10 new member states coming on board.

While Cypriot MPs would receive 4,080 euro a month, Hungarians would only get 761 euro per month.

Delay

However, new member states have been given more leeway on the system; it will be up to accession country governments to decide whether to keep their MEPs' payment levels at that of national MPs for up to ten years.

This is due to the fact that with the proposed equal salary MEPs from Estonia will receive nearly four times as much as their Prime Minister and Hungarian MEPs would be paid 25 times the average wage of their home country.