Trim Euro MP expenses - "and control lobbyists influence"
Bankers may currently occupy the prime slot as the public's hate figures, but revelations that EU parliament MEPs could add euro 1.2 m to their family income over a five-year term suggest that we are strong challengers for the role. It doesn't have to be like this. An MEP's salaries budget (euro 150,000 annually) can be used entirely to pay the salaries of staff. The office budget (euro 40,000) can be used entirely to pay the expenses of running an office.
With no executive body to insist upon a line to be followed, and with the freedom to forge cross-party alliances, individual MEPs can have a great deal more legislative influence than their counterparts at Westminster. Their actions can change the law of the land in 27 countries, not just one, and the lobbyists know this very well indeed.
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