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To avert calamity, the so-called troika — the International Monetary Fund, the European Central Bank and the European Commission — issued the first of two international bailouts for Greece, which would eventually total more than €240 billion. The bailouts came with conditions. Lenders imposed harsh austerity terms, requiring deep budget cuts and steep tax increases.
originally posted by: paraphi
No transparency = abuse. That's what the UK discovered, so now all MP expenses are declared and published, from staffing of the MPs Constituency office to free trips. No one wants to vote for a corrupt MP.
Here's a site with MPs expenses ... MP Expenses and here is the source from the UK Parliament... Parliament
The EU gravy train just keeps rolling on. Do these MEPs not understand?
The institution’s 751 MEPs receive €4,416 a month on top of their salaries for expenses, as a lump sum, tax free. This adds up to nearly €200 million in taxpayer money per parliamentary term.
As part of the MEPs Project, a loose collection of journalists from all EU countries, my colleagues and I have been trying to get to bottom of how MEPs are compensated for their expenses since 2015.
What we have discovered is a brazen disregard of the rules. Though the General Expenditure Allowance is predominantly intended to cover the rent and related costs of an office in an MEP’s constituency, we found in 2017 that a third of the Parliament — 249 MEPs — either did not have a national office, refused to disclose where it is or failed to answer questions about whether and where such an office exists.
Of those that did have a national office, journalists found more than 40 paid rent to their national political parties, which raised suspicions of unallowed national party financing. Eight MEPs’ national offices were located in buildings that they themselves own. One of those is chairman of the EPP group, Manfred Weber.
A few MEPs admitted to paying rent to themselves. Some explained they donated money to their party and different foundations. One MEP said he was saving the money for a pension. None of this is in line with rules governing the general allowance spending.
originally posted by: UpIsNowDown
a reply to: Freeborn
A few MEPs admitted to paying rent to themselves. Some explained they donated money to their party and different foundations. One MEP said he was saving the money for a pension. None of this is in line with rules governing the general allowance spending.
Nice so they take money and either pay themselves or save for pensions, and yet in the nations from which these leaches represent, I guarantee there will be homelessness and elderly who need finacial support and with £(euros)200million currently being handed out without accountability, it makes me wonder who they are actually representing