International

SP Euro-MP Dennis de Jong is angry that EP president Martin Schulz has rejected his proposal to freeze Euro-MPs’ salaries for 2013. As he says, ‘Schulz is not willing to bring the proposal to a vote. In my view this is a breach of my rights as a representative of the people.’ The EP president dropped De Jong’s proposal from the agenda on the grounds that it was in conflict with the statute for MEPs.

“You haven’t heard the last of this,” De Jong promises. “Together with a number of colleagues who have also been victims of Schulz’s diktats, I’ve signed a protest against this ridiculous decision.” De Jong’s proposal calls on the European Commission and the European Council to adjust the conditions of employment of MEPs to make it possible to freeze their salaries. “So I don’t understand Schulz’s argument,” he says. “It doesn’t mean that the existing statute provides for such a salary freeze, but asks for negotiations, because together with the Council we can certainly amend this statute.”

Since being elected in 2009 De Jong has made a number of far-reaching proposals aimed at limiting European Parliament spending, including putting an end to the practice of making tens of thousands of euros available to each Member for ‘general expenditure’, without any form of monitoring, and limiting the current positively royal travel budget. A proposal on the travel budget will be put to the vote in the European Parliament plenary on Thursday.