By Martin Banks - 30th January 2012
These jollies are an affront to taxpayers
Marta Andreasen
The 'real cost' of overseas delegation trips for MEPs, or 'jollies' as they have been dubbed by some, has been revealed in answer to a parliamentary question.
It says that one trip of parliament's African Caribbean and Pacific delegation to Kinshasa which lasted over eight days cost EU taxpayers over €1m for 50 MEPs, or €20,511 per MEP.
It is said that the same delegation took a trip to Tenerife which cost €11,049 per MEP over seven days for some 64 MEPs.
Delegations are groups of MEPs that travel to various points around the globe under the auspices of building better relations with parliamentarians and other political organisations.
The figures recently came to light in a written response from parliament's central secretariat to members of the budgetary control committee.
The revelations will add weight to those who are calling for a reduction, or freeze, in parliament's budget when the ongoing negotiations over the post 2013 EU budget are concluded.
One of the questions asked in the parliamentary question was, what were the ten most costly MEP delegation trips to countries outside the EU and which were the costliest within the EU.
UKIP MEP and former EU chief accountant Marta Andreasen, who publicly divulged the data, was scathing of the figures.
She said, "To illustrate the extravagance of these trips an eight night stay in a junior suite in the Ritz Hotel in London is a snip at only €540."
In a statement, she said, "These jollies are an affront to taxpayers. Even as the financial crisis was starting to bite hard in 2010, MEPs were rewarding themselves with self-serving and largely pointless delegation visits to the Mexico, the Seychelles and the Democratic Republic of Congo to name but three.
"Even within the EU the costs of trips were astronomical. A junior suite in the Ritz hotel in London costs an eye-watering €540 a night, so one can only imagine the opulence that greeted MEPs in Rome where a seven night trip broke down to each MEP spending €1,619 per day.
"Once again, it seems MEPs are happy to preach austerity to anyone but themselves. These figures are an appalling abuse of taxpayers' money. They should hang their heads in shame."
She added, "Parliament's central office is notorious for being opaque when it comes to divulging costs for fear of bringing their institution into disrepute.
"Whatever possessed them to become so forthcoming when asked what were the most expensive delegation trips for 2010, we will never know," she added.
The data emerged in wake of comments last week by Janusz Lewandowski, the European budget commissioner, who wrote a letter to MEPs appealing to them to show the public that the EU was committed to reducing the costs of administration.
The Polish official, himself a former MEP, said, "It is of utmost importance to continue to demonstrate that the European institutions are acting responsibly in the light of the difficult economic and budgetary conditions and to send a corresponding signal to European public opinion."
