Hard at Work at the European Parliament in Brussels

 HARD AT WORK AT THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT IN BRUSSELS

Parliament, MPs, the President of Greece: The Trinity of Shame Foreign Headlines Exalt

(William Hogarth’s The Orgy)

Members of Parliament in Greece are continuing the farce they call austerity measures, aka cutbacks. At a time when Greeks are called upon to pay property tax for the third time (they already pay two on a bi-monthly basis) with a further three announced this year, when civil servant income has been lowered (often rightly so in some cases) and pensioners who receive €550 a month are subjected to a further decrease in a pension that will not enable them to pay rent, medication or fuel for central heating this winter, MPs seem to live in a world of their own.

Backed by fervent support from the media nationally and internationally which has given rise to the image of the Greek who refuses to fess up to tax evasion all these years and pay the price, Parliament has passed the new budget for 2012 which hardly touches MPs’ salaries. Although slight pay cuts – which were proportionately insignificant in relation to the cuts average citizens suffered – were effected in 2011, that is where things stayed for 2012. In fact, the precise state of affairs is shocking. While the world lauds the government for its efforts to restitute Greece’s image by cutting salaries, wages, pensions, subsidies and perks in a country that never had a welfare system that worked, Greeks are protesting because they know better.

Last year’s MP expense budget covered:

a) compensation: Yes, compensation as they call it, because what they are doing is a favor to all  Greeks, that is why they need to be compensated rather than receive a salary like those lucky enough to hold

Revolt prompts tax retreat

by Dimitris Yannopoulos 18 Jun 2011

A VERITABLE revolt by ruling party MPs and opposition pressure prompted Finance Minister Yiorgos Papakonstantinou on June 15 to revise a “poll tax” on virtually all salaries and pensions branded as “solidarity contribution” for the country’s growing number of unemployed. The new tax was part of the government’s midterm plan for sweeping deficit-cutting measures worth 6.5 billion euros of additional savings this year and a total of another 22 billion euros in cutbacks for the 2012-2015 period, in accordance with Greece’s obligations agreed with the troika of EU-IMF-ECB creditors earlier this month. The plan also calls for the privatisation of state assets and sale of public property to raise additional revenues of 50 billion euros.

Dozens of MPs seek wage hikes

 A total of 284 legal suits have been lodged since 2008 by MPs

The amount sought by MPs seeking salary hikes is estimated at 70 million euros.

Just a few days after it emerged that several former MPs suing for retroactive pensions had dropped their claims following a public and political outcry at such claims being made during a period of austerity, Kathimerini has learned that dozens more deputies have lodged legal appeals over the past few years seeking salary hikes.

According to sources, a total of 284 legal suits have been lodged with the Athens Court of First Instance since 2008 by MPs demanding that their salaries be increased to the level of Supreme Court judges. The value of each deputy’s claims is in the region of 250,000 euros, the sources said. The overall amount sought is estimated at 70 million euros.

Greek opposition sets demands as EU/IMF verdict nears

By Harry Papachristou and Renee Maltezou

ATHENS | Mon May 30, 2011 7:55am EDT

(Reuters) – Greece’s conservative opposition demanded tax cuts on Monday as the price for a consensus deal with the Socialist government on imposing yet more austerity, a major condition for getting further aid from the EU and IMF.

Conservative leader Antonis Samaras called for a flat 15 percent corporate tax and rejected government plans for hiking taxes to tackle Greece’s budget deficit and please fiscal inspectors mulling the next, key tranche of a 110 billion euro bailout.