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398 MEPs earn up to €18m from side-jobs - EU Integrity Watch database launched -

Monday 13 October, 2014

Members of the European Parliament must be more transparent about the on-the-side activities they do while in public office, Transparency International's EU Office said today, as new research showed MEPs collectively earn between €5.8 and €18.3 million per year on top of their official salaries.

"With more than half of MEPs pursing activities outside of the European Parliament, it is important for citizens to know exactly what private interests, they have at the same time as they carry out public duties." says Carl Dolan, Director of Transparency International EU. "If it wants to restore trust in Brussels decision-making, the Parliament must do more than just pay lip-service to transparency, and put in place some meaningful checks and balances."

The findings come from the new EU Integrity Watch database (www.integritywatch.eu), launched today, which will for the first time collect all available information on the outside activities and incomes of MEPs.

The data shows that Europe's politicians have alarming levels of private interests, with 175 earning at least €500 per month from outside activities. 12 MEPs earn more than €10,000 a month, while one MEP declared 68 different outside activities. The database shows the scale of outside activity but raises more questions than answers, Transparency International's EU Office warned.

The database provides a comprehensive overview of MEPs' outside revenues. It can be used to show differences between countries, political groups and national parties, and to monitor potential conflicts of interest where their private interests conflict with their public duties. It allows MEPs to be ranked based on the number of outside occupations, board memberships or other political mandates they have as well as the income derived from these activities.

Key findings:

For further information please contact:

Daniel Freund

Policy Officer EU Integrity E. dfreund@transparency.org T: +32 489 58 7140



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