Salaries of the EU civil servants
- (Photo: European Commission)
The EU institutions employ around 30,000 civil servants on salaries far above those that they would receive in their home countries. The level is similar to that of civil servants in Member States’ embassies in Brussels.
EU Staff are divided into 4 categories.
- A-persons are usually University graduates
- B-persons are administrators
- C-persons are secretaries and assistants
- D-persons are drivers, technical assistants and practical helpers.
The Prodi Commission introduced staff reforms with more incentive-based pay, this resulted in some resistance from the staff unions.
The salary is increased by family allowances and only a quite low level of tax has to be paid to the EU. Full-time civil servants in Brussels can also buy cars without paying local taxes on them.
In the EU Parliament, staff of the political groups can be employed as “temporary agents”, giving them a job from which they can be dismissed with three month’s notice. In reality, many "temporary agents" remain in posts for years and even decades.
Staff can also be employed as “auxiliaries” for a certain period up to three years for a lower salary than those paid to “temporary agents”.
Members of the EU Parliament can employ personal assistants on so-called “private contracts”. Every MEP can use 12,305 Euro per month for this purpose. The list of employed assistants is not made public and MEPs may employ their family members.
