MEPs SALARIES AND ALLOWANCES: EVERYTHING YOU WANTED TO KNOW BUT WERE AFRAID TO ASK

All members of the European Parliament are paid the same amount every month from the EU budget.

Salary: The salary is € 7,956.87 per month with a mild EU tax bringing it down to around € 6.200,72. MEPs leaving the Parliament after 3 years membership may have an "end term" allowance where the salary continue in up to 2 years.

Daily Allowance: In addition MEPs receive daily allowances for each day they sign in the Parliaments' buildings in Brussels or Strasbourg. The daily allowance is € 304 per day. It is meant to cover rent and extra household but is also paid to members e.g. living in and elected in Brussels. A MEP can sign in 10pm in the veening and 7am in the morning and receive 2 days' daily allowance without having taken part in any meeting or other relevant parliamentary activity. However on days when plenary votes are held, if MEPs miss more than half the roll-call votes, this allowance is reduced by half. For meetings outside the EU, the allowance is € 152 with hotel and breakfast bills refunded separately.

Assistants: MEPs can hire staff to assist them in their job for an mount of € 19,709 per month.

General Allowance: To cover secretarial costs at home MEPs receive € 4,299 per month in a general allowance. They do not need to deliver any proof and MEPs can just use them as an extra salary. All MEPs receive the same pay whether they are taking part in meetings and are efficient or not. Some MEPs never or very seldom appear in meetings. They can still have their full salary but their secretarial alloawnce can be halved.

Distance and Duration Allowances: MEPs are paid the real costs in travel allowance which means that everyone can travel business class also on very short distances. In addition they receive a distance allowance and a duration allowance for one travel a week. The distance allowance starts with minimum € 22 if the MEP has his/her home up to 50km from the meeting place. From 51-250km a MEP can add € 0.12 per km. From 251-1000 km, he/she can add € 0.96 per km. From 1000 and upwards € 0.03 per km. The duration allowance is paid for 2-4 hours with € 37.25. For 4-6 hours € 74.5. More than 6 hours € 149 and with one night included a full extra daily allowance at € 298. If members travel by car they will be reimbursed € 0.50 per km plus the cost of any ferry crossing required.

Travels at Home Allowances: MEPs are paid for travels in the member states. MEPs from Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, The Netherlands and Slovenia can be reimbursed for up to 8,000 km per year. MEPs from Bulgaria, The Czech Republic, Ireland, Greece, Hungary, Austria, Portugal and Slovakia can be reimbursed up to 16,000 km. MEPs from Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Poland, Romania, Finland, Sweden and the United Kingdom can receive up to 24,000 km. MEPs from e.g. overseas territories in France can also receive 24 flight travels to and from these territories each year.

Travel Abroad Allowance: In addition MEPs can use € 4,243 per year for travels to other countries in the world, but there need to be an invitation for a meeting or seminar.

Insurance: MEPs have insurance against sickness and invalidity and theft, paid by Parliament. The EP pays 2/3 of the contributions to the insurance. If invalid a MEP receives the annual salary multiplied by 8. All MEPs receive the same pay whether they are taking part in meetings and are efficient or not. Some MEPs never or very seldom appear in the meetings. They can still have their full salary but their secretarial allowance be be halved.

No Parental Leave: There is no parental leave in the EP for MEPs.

Pension: MEPs receive a pension paid directly from the EU. It is also calculated as a percentage of the pension for an EU judge. It can be paid when a MEP reaches the age of 63. The amount is 3.5% of the salary for each year of membership in the EP. The pension cannot be above 70% of the salary. This means that seniority above 20 years does not count for pension rights. Member States may be allowed to tax the EU pension until the EU Court could judge otherwise.

Extra Pension Today: Previous MEPs receive their pension from the nation states taxed in the nation  states. In addition they can draw a voluntary pension scheme set up by the Parliament itself. MEPs paid 1/3 of the contribution while the EU budget paid 2/3 of the costs. The value of the voluntary pension is € 27,835.33 per year as member of the scheme, before eventual national taxation. This is the 2/3 amount paid by the EP. In some Member States the pension  has been or may be taxed nationally. In most countries, it is not.