From their basic salaries to extra allowances and benefits, European Union officials and lawmakers can expect to make a decent amount of money from their positions.
The basic salary of an EU administrator or assistant can go from €3,035.19 up to a whopping €23,959.44 per month –€287,513 a year — before taxes, under the 2024 EU Staff Regulations Law.
As a comparison, EU administrators earn more than workers at intergovernmental organisations like the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
An OECD official in an executive leadership role can earn a maximum of €17,764.23 a month, according to the organisation’s 2024 monthly salary range for workers.
However, even beyond their salaries, EU officials enjoy many more allowances.
A non-exhaustive list of these possible allowances includes a parental leave allowance, a household allowance, a dependent child allowance, an education allowance, an expatriation allowance, a kilometric allowance, and an installation allowance.
An EU official can, for example, earn €320 for each dependent child at least five years old enrolled full-time in school, according to the 2024 EU staff regulation.
However, EU administrators and assistants are not the highest-paid of the lot
The European Commission President, the European Council President and the European Court of Justice President all earn 138 per cent more than the highest-paid EU officials.
They each make €33,065.03 per month, without allowances — just shy of €400,000 a year.
The European Commission president also receives a monthly “entertainment allowance” of €1,418.07, bringing the total to €34,483.21.
This is substantially more than the leaders of many major nation-states.
French President Emmanuel Macron’s 2024 January pay slip, including benefits, came to €14,586.32 according to the French publication Libération.
Like other world leaders, the European Commission’s President also has access to a variety of other perks such as private chauffeurs and private jets for travel.
From 2021 to 2023, EC President Ursula von der Leyen went on nearly 60 private jet trips.
Documents seen by German media show that the EU chief has taken 57 separate flights on private planes since 2021. #SOTEU2023 https://t.co/SpjEm7U2UL
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) September 13, 2023
EU officials, administrators, and senior assistants are not the only ones enjoying high salaries and benefits.
According to the European Parliament website, MEPs earn a net salary of €8,089.63 per month.
On top of this income, they also enjoy additional allowances.
This includes a monthly €4,950, to cover accommodation, food, and other costs while in Brussels or Strasbourg.
They can also receive a daily additional €350 for signing an attendance register for plenary sessions and commission meetings.
The EU Parliamentary agenda includes roughly 175 working days a year for MEPs, meaning in a year, MEPs can make up to €61,250 just by showing up to work.
MEPs are also refunded for their trips, including first-class train and aeroplane tickets back and forth to the country they were elected in.
All these funds come directly out of the Parliament’s budget.
Newly elected MEPs for the 2024 term are entitled to the same salary and allowances.
On top of their role as elected lawmakers, MEPs are also permitted to have paid or unpaid activities unrelated to their parliamentary duties.
More than 26 per cent of the MEPs in 2019-2024 gained money from their side hustles, according to a report published in May by the NGO Transparency International EU.
Anti-corruption NGO calls for EP ban on MEPs’ side hustleshttps://t.co/04rHgQ4z3N
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) May 6, 2024
MEPs also receive a so-called end-of-term allowance.
At the end of their term in office, MEPs are entitled to a transitional allowance, equivalent to one month’s salary per year they were in office, for up to two years.
They receive this allowance so long as they are not entitled to an old age or invalidity pension, as they cannot receive both and must choose one or the other.
If they take other employment, the new salary is offset against the transitional allowance.
