In 2009 the UK experienced what became known as the ‘MPs Expenses Scandal’ in which members of parliament were abusing the allowances and expenses given to them by the British tax payer. This led to outrage among the media and the general public. Wikipedia explains:
The United Kingdom parliamentary expenses scandal was a major political scandal that emerged in 2009, concerning expenses claims made by members of the United Kingdom Parliament over the previous years. The disclosure of widespread misuse of allowances and expenses permitted to Members of Parliament (MPs) aroused widespread anger among the UK public and resulted in a large number of resignations, sackings, de-selections and retirement announcements together with public apologies and the repayment of expenses. Several members or former members of the House of Commons, and members of the House of Lords, were prosecuted and sentenced to terms of imprisonment.
More recently there have been calls from journalists and campaigners for the EU Parliament to be open and transparent about the details of the expenses dished out to MEPs. This was met with resistance from the European Parliament and now the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has backed them up ruling that MEPs expenses should remain secret. In his article for The Independent titled MEPs’ expenses details to stay secret after EU court ruling, Jon Stone writes:
The European Union’s highest court has ruled that the expenses of members of the European Parliament (MEPs) can remain secret, after a bid by campaigners and journalists to bring transparency to the Brussels legislature.
The ECJ ruled that the European Parliament was right to refuse requests for information on the grounds that releasing the information would undermine “the protection of privacy and the integrity of the individual”.
The court also stated that the details of expenses would not be released even in an anonymised form. Stone continues:
The court also said that the information should not be released in an anonymised form to protect privacy because it would represent “an excessive administrative burden” to delete names and that it would not be useful without names attached.
Not useful! What! How is it “not useful” to know how MEPs are using public funds? Even without having to name names the EU still refuses to let the public know where the money is going. Clearly these MEPs have much to hide.
Stone concludes his article by pointing out that :
MEPs currently do not have to keep their receipts or disclose to their constituents what that money is spent on. These €4,416 monthly payments are paid to MEPs in addition to their regular monthly salary of €8,611.
So let this be a lesson to those of you who voted Remain in the Brexit referendum, especially those who acknowledged the many issues that Brexiteers had with the EU but then responded by spouting nonsense about how the UK can help “reform” the EU from within. The fact is… you can’t reform an institution that doesn’t want to be reformed. If they won’t even do something as simple as declaring the details of MEP’s expenses – which the public is paying for – then what chance is there of the EU ever instituting any real changes in the way it operates. This fat, overfed, bureaucratic institution is a parasite feeding off of the European people. It’s an emerging tyranny who’s minions and lackeys are riding the gravy train while the European nations and their citizens fall victim to the Kalergi plan.
Although some mainstream articles are available online, it seems that hardly any television news organisations are interested in this subject despite the wall to wall coverage they gave to the UK expenses scandal ten years ago. The honourable exception is Euronews who’s reports you will find below:
The Infohub 