Het Bureau van het EP keurt hervorming regels goed voor uitgaven parlementaire assistenten (en)

The Bureau of the European Parliament has adopted a fundamental reform of expenses for parliamentary assistants. The new Rules will come into effect after the June 2009 elections.

An EU regime for assistants in EP places of work

Assistants accredited at the working places of the European Parliament in Brussels, Strasbourg or Luxembourg will in the future be subject to a European Union regime. Details for this will have to be drawn up in close cooperation with the Commission and the Council and will have to be finally adopted by the Council.

Local assistants to be paid locally

Payments to local assistants employed by Members in their respective Member States will in the future be handled only by qualified paying agents who will guarantee the correct payment of social security and taxes. At least 75% of the parliamentary assistance allowance will have to be used for contracts that are subject to social security payments. Up to 25% may be used to pay for services, such as research studies or other advisory work. Payment of those will also be handled by a paying agent.

No new contracts for relatives

With immediate effect, no new contracts may be concluded with close relatives of Members. Existing contracts may be extended, but for only one parliamentary term, and must be clearly shown in the Member's declaration of financial interest, in the register open to the public.

The general lines of this reform were set out in an eight-point plan by President Hans-Gert Pöttering in May this year. The details were then worked out by a working group chaired by Vice-President Martine Roure and Ingo Friedrich (as deputy chairman). The reform package was adopted unanimously by the Bureau.

President Hans-Gert Pöttering i welcomed the new rules for assistants:

"After intensive work we have now achieved a good result, which makes the system of payments to assistants clearer and easier to apply. This is a transparent system, which protects assistants' social rights as well as the Members' right to select their assistants freely. I would like to thank the working group, and in particular its chairperson Martine Roure, for their thorough work."