Members of European
parliament receive more than $62,000 yearly “office money” in addition to
salaries.
EU parliamentarians do not need to publicly explain how they use
their additional allowances according to the European Court of Justice.
The Court has recently declared that
the 750 Members of the European Parliament do not need to reveal how they use
the extra funds they receive from Parliament in addition to their salary.
Every month, MEPs receive around € 4.500 in a special grant
called “office money”. These should primarily go to the politicians’ offices in
their home country, including computer equipment, telephone/broadband and other
things they need in their political work.
When a network of European journalists investigating the
European Parliament began to look into how the funds were used a few years ago,
it was discovered that they were passed on to members’ own accounts, and in
several cases went to empty offices or offices that did not exist.
In addition, eight
German MPs were revealed to have used the public compensation to pay for office
rooms in their own homes.
When the European Parliament in 2015 said no to the release of
members’ receipts and other documents, the investigative reporters decided to
appeal to the EU Court of Justice.
And a few days ago, the verdict came, according to which the
public is denied insight into how politicians use their extra allowances.
Only if it is deemed necessary may the documents be disclosed,
and the Court finds that the network has failed to explain that would be the
case in the present matter.
“We have seen it as obvious that when they get money to perform
a task, they must also report how they use it”, says representative for the
network Staffan Dahllöf.
The journalist network will now analyse the judgment together
with its lawyer and consider an appeal.
This is yet another
example of how the EU’s unelected overpaid bureaucrats spit on the people that
pay their salaries – and whom they are supposed to serve. It is our right to
ask and be informed for what our taxes are paying.
Of course this particular grant is just a drop in the ocean of
money that is used in the wrong way by the greedy people that rule the
organisation we’re forced to live under and obey.
It’s yet another example, and yet another reason, for all
countries with the will to survive to leave the undemocratic and totalitarian
sinking ship that is the EU and save themselves before it’s too late.
