MEP and liberal Sophie in ‘t Veld, who recently attacked the current Slovenian government, has found herself under an avalanche of criticism after Dutch media outlet HP/De Tijd reported that in recent years, as an MEP, she has received tens of thousands of euros, which is much more than what belongs to MEPs.
Namely, MEPs receive “pocket money” of 320 euros to cover expenses such as hotels, meals, and so on, for every day they are in Brussels or Strasbourg. In ‘t Veld, who has lived in Brussels since 2005, received 27,840 euros from the EU Parliament in 2018 alone, despite not having any hotel or similar expenses, as she is a permanent resident of Brussels.
In ‘t Veld, who hopes to succeed Guy Verhofstadt as head of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) has said she agrees with the Dutch media’s definition of the purpose of these allowances. She added that she allegedly used her pocket money to cover “additional costs” when she visited her homeland, the Netherlands. So, according to her interpretation, she also deserves pocket money.
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