are MEPs paid 23,000 euros per month?

As the European elections approach, a message is circulating on social networks claiming that MEPs receive nearly 23,000 euros in remuneration each month. This is false, this message confuses the remuneration and allowances of MEPs.

How much does a MEP earn? As the European elections approach, a message is circulating on the networks, stating that MEPs are touching “22,866 euros net per month” for their remuneration. An amount compared to the net minimum wage in France. “This is the real motivation of our future MEPs!”, we can also read, highlighted in fluorescent yellow. True or false ?

It’s wrong. This message confuses remuneration, that is to say the equivalent of a salary, and the allowances to which MEPs are entitled. Their remuneration amounts precisely to 7,854 euros net per month, after deduction of European tax and social security contributions, as specified by the European Parliament. We are therefore far from 23,000 euros. All MEPs receive the same amount. This amount is not renegotiated every year but recalculated regularly and corresponds to 38.5% of the basic remuneration of a judge of the Court of Justice of the European Union.

In addition to this remuneration, there are allowances to cover daily expenses linked to their mandate, as for a French MP. MEPs first receive the “overhead expenses” allowance. It amounts to 4,950 euros each month and is used to pay for the rental of an office, telephone bills or even the purchase of a computer. But this sum is conditional on the presence of MEPs in the hemicycle. “The allowance is reduced by half for deputies who, without valid justification, do not attend half of the plenary sessions of a parliamentary year (from September to August)”, we can read on the European Parliament website. For greater transparency, MEPs can publish supporting documents for their expenses online, but this is not obligatory.

European elected officials can then be reimbursed for their transport costs, upon presentation of supporting documents. A train ticket, for example, to go to Strasbourd, where the Parliament is located. MEPs also receive a daily allowance of 350 euros, for meals and accommodation, particularly during periods of parliamentary activity. Here again, to receive this fixed compensation, they must prove their presence in the hemicycle, by signing one of the registers at the entrance. They cannot cheat: if they sign the register but do not vote, their compensation is halved.