(1) MEPs in the EU Parliament enjoy generous perks on top of monthly salaries of over €8,000 - weak oversight & lack of a proper trial on these 'expenses' may have helped generate some of the backlash & it struggles to connect with the public https://euobserver.com/institutional/144032
[Magazine] The murky perks of an MEP

Accountability and transparency are in short supply when it comes to how MEPs spend €40m every year on "office supplies". Efforts to pry open this secrecy have been met with strong resistance from...

https://euobserver.com/institutional/144032
(2) Turnout at the EU parliamentary elections went from a high of 62% in 1979 to only 42% in 2014, official figures show - in Slovakia, only 13.05% bothered to vote - this indicates a decline in EU people's trust & also their representativeness

https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2017/599242/EPRS_STU(2017)599242_EN.pdf
(3) Let's check turnouts from British voters in 2009 & 2014 - below 36%
(4) Let's check turnouts from voters in Slovakia in 2009 & 2014 - fell from 19.64% to 13.05% - also very low for Poland & low for even the Netherlands
(4) Let's check turnouts from voters in Slovakia in 2009 & 2014 - fell from 19.64% to 13.05% - also very low for Poland & low for even the Netherlands
(4) Let's check turnouts from voters in Slovakia in 2009 & 2014 - fell from 19.64% to 13.05% - also very low for Poland & low for even the Netherlands
(4) Let's check turnouts from voters in Slovakia in 2009 & 2014 - fell from 19.64% to 13.05% - also very low for Poland & low for even the Netherlands
(5) Sensing this voter antipathy, even antagonism, recent manifestos from the centre-right European People's Party (EPP) and the liberal Alde groups have all demanded greater transparency in the EU institutions - Yet the voting records at committee level point to a concerted
(6) effort to maintain a culture of secrecy at the EU Parliament - internal deliberations among 8 political party heads had also overruled wide support by 540 MEPs for greater transparency on how they spend taxpayers' money on themselves https://euobserver.com/institutional/142274
[Exclusive] How eight MEPs overruled 540 colleagues on office expenses

The EU parliament spends €40m a year on a lump sum for MEPs' expenses with barely any scrutiny. A majority of parliamentarians called for more transparency - but a handful of powerful MEPs mostly...

https://euobserver.com/institutional/142274
(7) In addition, MEPs of the EU Parliament receive an extra €4,500 a month for office expenses, tax-free - this money goes directly into their personal bank accounts, & costs a total of some €40m a year - MEPs are not required to keep any receipts https://euobserver.com/institutional/138058
[Investigation] Citizens pay for MEPs' ghost offices

Each member of the European Parliament gets €4,342 every month, mainly to fund an office in their own country. But many of these offices seem nowhere to be found.

https://euobserver.com/institutional/138058
(8) A group of journalists in 2017 from across Europe approached MEPs of the EU Parliament, some 249 either said they had no office, or refused to reveal their addresses. In some cases, the location of their alleged office could not be found

https://euobserver.com/institutional/138058
(8) A group of journalists in 2017 from across Europe approached MEPs of the EU Parliament, some 249 either said they had no office, or refused to reveal their addresses. In some cases, the location of their alleged office could not be found https://euobserver.com/institutional/138058
(8) A group of journalists in 2017 from across Europe approached MEPs of the EU Parliament, some 249 either said they had no office, or refused to reveal their addresses. In some cases, the location of their alleged office could not be found https://euobserver.com/institutional/138058
(9) Nigel Farage, former British eurosceptic MEP who often railed against a 'Brussels elite', has used a private jet to attend the plenary sessions in Strasbourg, earned up to €420,000 in outside income as well, mostly from lucrative broadcast contracts

https://euobserver.com/institutional/144032
(10) Perks of Members of European Parliament - when comparing the wages to national lawmakers, as of 2018 British MPs annual salary before taxes equal to about £€7,329 per month. In Italy, national MPs earn a net salary of €5,246.54

https://www.euronews.com/2019/04/04/what-are-the-perks-of-being-an-mep-euronews-answers
(10) Perks of Members of European Parliament - when comparing the wages to national lawmakers, as of 2018 British MPs annual salary before taxes equal to about £€7,329 per month. In Italy, national MPs earn a net salary of €5,246.54 https://www.euronews.com/2019/04/04/what-are-the-perks-of-being-an-mep-euronews-answers
(10) Perks of Members of European Parliament - when comparing the wages to national lawmakers, as of 2018 British MPs annual salary before taxes equal to about £€7,329 per month. In Italy, national MPs earn a net salary of €5,246.54 https://www.euronews.com/2019/04/04/what-are-the-perks-of-being-an-mep-euronews-answers
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