MEP's Gravy Train

[mike1222]

Taken from today's Open Europe Bulletin:

MEPs are entitled to expenses and allowances of �363,000 a year, including a �261 daily subsistence allowance and �45,648 in general office expenses even though they are provided with offices in Brussels and Strasbourg. This equates to �1,816,250 per MEP over a five year term and no receipts are required.
This comes on top of �83,282 in salary, �29,309 in pensions and �41,641 in transitional payments. In contrast, UK MPs claim up to �144,000 on average in expenses.

Are these next for the Guillotine?

[VHG]

The whole EU gravy train has been known about for years, but nobody seems inclined to stop it.

I remember it being discussed in "Yes Minister" 20 years ago when Hacker was offered a job in Europe.

If yuou also include the fact that the auditors have refused to sign off the EU accounts for the last 12 or 13 yeats because they have no way of checking they are accurate.

The quicker we get out the EU the better as far as I am concerned.

[VHG]

One other thing.....

The EU supporters point out how many projects are paid for by the EU, but is is OUR money we gave them in the first place. We then have to ask for it back so we can build whatever project we have "bid" for.

Plus we have given Poland BILLIONS to build a new road infrastructure, so they can get their goods OUT of Poland and in to the rest of Europe to sell.

So what happens, company after company closes down in England and moves to Poland because it is cheaper.

And the Euro is so bad against the pound that people are going on holiday OUTSIDE the Euro zone as its cheaper.

So EU citizens are not even spending their holiday money in the EU. How silly.

[Whickerman]

No receipts are required for office expenses as all support office expenses are paid directly by the EU and don't go through MEPs accounts. Travel expenses must be vouched - ie receipts are indeed required.
The salary for each MEP is exactly - to the penny - the same as the MP salary from their home country.

I don't think it's cheap, I don't think it's what the people want, but let's at least get all of the facts.


Some of the above is referenced here:
http://www.richardcorbett.org.uk/assets/docs/b riefing/expenses.pdf

[mike1222]

Whickerman, travel expenses do not require receipts - yet.

This is also from the Open Europe Bulletin:

Swedish Left Party MEP Jens Holm has provided a candid account of how the current travel expenses system can lead to MEPs pocketing thousands of euros a year because no receipt is required to account for the actual cost of a journey. He said, "I know that until February this year, the European Parliament has paid me about �200,000 in travel allowances and I'd say that I have donated around �150,000 to charities and also to my own party."


Under new rules, from June onwards, the travel allowance system will be reformed so that MEPs need to provide receipts for their tickets. However, for the majority of their expenditure (office expenses, daily subsistence allowance, staff allowances) MEPs will still not be required to produce receipts.

[paraffin]

Yes.

[fredpuli47]

The leader of UKIP has been saying that he's taken �2 million from the EU. This party is one that wants us out of Europe.Very noble of them to have candidates to be MEPs when they are against our being members at all ! And very pleasing that they are expecting to get votes from people who are aghast at the expenses claims of MPs of other parties ! No wonder that the French sometimes call hypocrisy the English vice.

[rov1200]

Just like the British system its the employment of family members which pushes up the cost to the taxpayer. I believe the European parliament is about to stop this but you don't hear much murmering this side of the channel.