The European Union is once again in hot water—this time for quietly approving a massive hike in expense entitlements for its staff, with some perks soaring as high as 38%. Danish MEP Anders Vistisen didn’t hold back, accusing Brussels of lining bureaucrats’ pockets while everyday Europeans battle skyrocketing living costs.
The updated allowance scheme, rubber-stamped back in February and made public on May 12, adjusts hotel and daily mission expenses for EU employees based on cost-of-living data compiled by Eurostat. And the increases? Well, they’re eye-popping.
French EU staff, for instance, saw their hotel allowance jump from €180 to €212—a 17.78% spike. Their daily stipend wasn’t left behind either, climbing by 24.5%, from €102 to €127. Danish officials fared even better: hotel reimbursements leapt from €173 to €208 (a 20.3% rise), while their daily allowances rocketed from €124 to €172—an eye-watering 38.7% boost.
Vistisen, who leads the Patriots for Europe group, likened the move to bureaucrats treating taxpayer funds like a bottomless piggy bank. “While families across Europe pinch pennies just to make ends meet, EU staff are having their accounts fattened on the backs of hard-pressed citizens,” he said, blasting the Commission for handing out taxpayer money “like candy to their minions.”
And the pay scandal doesn’t stop at allowances. A deeper dive into EU employment figures paints a picture of a bloated Brussels bureaucracy where thousands of officials out-earn their political bosses. A recent report by The Telegraph revealed that about one-third of the European Commission’s 30,000 staff members take home salaries north of €113,000 per year. With cushy benefits like minimal taxation and lucrative expatriation perks, their total compensation far exceeds that of many EU leaders.
Mid-level managers—those at AST9 or AD9 grades—enjoy a base monthly salary of over €10,000, topped with a €1,682 expatriation bonus. Despite earning more than leaders of several EU member states, they pay just over €1,100 in tax. Nearly 3,000 Commission employees fall into this category.
Vistisen didn’t mince words: “It’s outrageous. EU bureaucrats are soaking up public money with a sense of entitlement that’s completely detached from the real world. The EU isn’t a democratic institution—it’s a gravy train for unaccountable elites.”
He argues that while elected representatives are subject to public scrutiny, the real power lies with faceless bureaucrats, shielded by generous paychecks and virtually no accountability. “If you follow the money,” he said, “you’ll see the EU works for the bureaucrats—not the people.”
To top it all off, April marked the seventh raise in just three years for the roughly 66,000 employees across European institutions. That includes European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, whose monthly pay now stands at a staggering €34,800.
As the cost-of-living crisis deepens across Europe, revelations like these are likely to fuel growing discontent among voters already skeptical of EU leadership.
