Spain’s 213 outgoing MPs could claim nearly €9,600

In Madrid, 213 MPs lose their seats at midnight on Tuesday as Spain’s Congress of Deputies is dissolved. They can apply for a one-off payment of between €7,300 and almost €9,600, but only if they have no other income.

A payment for 52 days

The sum is expected to cover what the MPs would have earned over the 52 days between the dissolution and 28 November. The governing board of the Congress of Deputies has yet to approve it, though the same arrangement has applied after previous dissolutions. MPs must apply for the money; it is paid in one go and is taxable.

The calculation starts with monthly parliamentary pay of €3,366.99. It also includes an allowance for parliamentary work: €1,032.38 for MPs from Madrid and €2,162.85 for those from elsewhere. A proportion of any allowances tied to an MP’s role is added on top.

Who stays, and what follows the election

Another 137 people keep their seats after the dissolution. They include the 68 full members of the Congress’s standing committee, their substitutes and Congress president Francina Armengol. Committee members remain MPs until the new Congress meets, no later than 24 December; the exact date will be known when the dissolution decree is published.

After the election, MPs who do not win another seat may apply for a separate leaving payment if they served at least two years and receive no other public salary. It amounts to one month of the current €3,366.99 parliamentary pay for each year served, for a maximum of 24 months. Unlike the transition payment, it is paid monthly and can stop if a former MP’s employment situation changes.

Topics: Politics

Source: Europa Press / Mallorca.com