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3 An MEP's day job

Being an MEP is a full-time job. One week in each month is taken up with the Parliament's session in StrasbourgStrasbourg ( German Strassburg "castle of roads", Alsatian Strossburi is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region of northeastern France. It is the prefecture (capital) of the Bas-Rhin departement''. Population: 250,000. Population of the metro, and much of the remaining three weeks by committee, Group, or full Parliament meetings in Brussels.

On top of all this is the need to keep in touch with constituents at home. The problems of having to travel frequently between Parliament and constituency, familiar to most national MPs, are compounded in the case of MEPs because the distances are much further. Parliamentary affairs leave only a couple of days each week for MEPs to spend time in their constituencies, during which time they must deal with individual constituents, local organisations, local and national politicians, businesses, trade unions, and so on. Because of these pressures, many MEPs do have substantial staffs to help them to respond.

Many MEPs choose to make their family home in Brussels rather than in their home country, to avoid having family pressures competing with other pressures in the limited time that members are able to spend in their constituency.

Because MEPs sit in a Parliament with far fewer powers than national parliaments, their public profile in their home country is typically lower than that of national parliamentarians.

4 Immunities

Under the protocol on the privileges and immunities of the European Union, MEPs in their home country receive the same immunities as their own national parliamentarians. In other member states, MEPs are immune from detention and from legal proceedings, except when caught in the act of committing an offence. This immunity may be waived by application to the European Parliament by the authorities of the country in question.

5 Salary

MEPs earn exactly the same salary as a member of their own national parliament. As a result, there is a wide range of salaries in the European Parliament. In 2002, Italian MEPs earned £78,244, while Spanish MEPs earned barely a quarter of that at £20,496.

6 Expenses

Commentators in several member states (most notably Denmark, Sweden and the UK) have frequently accused MEPs of taking advantage of lucrative expense allowances for personal profit. Such criticisms typically centre on two areas:

the amount paid to MEPs as expenses; and
the manner in which it is paid.

With regard to the amount paid, according to the Parliament's rules of procedure, MEPs receive allowances that are roughly equivalent to those paid to British MPs. As of 2002:

British MPs received an allowance for travel around their constituencies, but MEPs did not, despite the fact that their constituencies were much larger.
British MPs were paid a lump sum of just under £19,500 for accommodation at seat of Parliament, regardless of the time they actually spent there. MEPs received £150 per day attended and were required to sign in to prove attendance.
Both British MPs and MEPs were paid travel expenses for journeys from constituencies to Parliament. Contrary to widespread rumours, MEPs received 'YY economy class' air fares paid, not first class, plus an allowance per kilometre for the trip from their home to the airport. Only one journey was allowed per week.
British MPs were given first class rail tickets for spouse and children to Westminster up to thirty times per year. MEPs had no such allowance.
British MPs were given two return tickets per year to any EU parliament or the European Parliament itself. MEPs had no such allowance.
British MPs received unlimited travel expenses around the UK on parliamentary business. MEPs were given a similar allowance, but this was limited to £2,170 per year, plus an extra allowance if they needed to return home midweek.
British MPs and MEPs both received an office allowance. MEPs were paid 44% more than MPs, but this had to include postage and all equipment, whereas MPs also received unlimited free postage and free computers.
British MPs and MEPs both had a staff allowance. MEPs received 30% more than MPs, but their staffs are typically larger, and this amount had to cover staff pensions, temporary replacements for illness, redundancy costs at end of mandate, staff travel, insurance, administration, and employer's liability. MPs had those provided for free on top of their allowance.
At the end of their mandates, British MPs received four months of office allowances, while MEPs received three.

With regard to the manner in which it is paid, complaints are often raised about the fact that MEPs' flights to and from Brussels are paid at a flat rate, regardless of the expenditure actually incurred. The price paid is for economy travel, not first-class, but nevertheless this value often amounts to significantly more than the actual price of travel with one of the many budget airlines that serve Brussels.

Another area of concern is the fact that MEPs' accounts are currently audited on a spot-check basis, not a universal one. Feeling this to be insufficient, some members voluntarily submit their accounts for a full independent audit annually.

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