I often get the question: How much does an MEP earn? Some politicians don’t like that kind of intimate question. I, on the contrary, find them very relevant. We are financed by taxpayers money, so the taxpayers have the right to know.
So this is what we get paid:
Salary
According to our national MP standard: in my case, 4500 euros/month.
Travel allowance
Not according to the ticket price, but a lump sum based on the distance you have travelled: approx. 2000 euros/trip (to Brussels or Strasbourg).
Per diem
300 euros/day in Brussels/Strasbourg
General expenses
4000 euros/month
Yes, anyone can see that an MEP can quite easily become rich, very rich, on representing the people that elected him/her. In order to avoid that, I find it crucial to do two things:
1. Struggle as much as I can for reductions of these outrageous expenses (We should not get more money than a national MP; that should be the starting point of the discussion).
2. Give away the money I don’t need to do my work as a politician. I’d estimate that I donate 40,000 – 50,000 euros/year to grassroots organizations and my own party, the Swedish Left Party.