| Former Presidents' entitlements: 3 month chauffeur; 9 months priority from chauffeur pool; large office; 2.5 yrs secretarial allowance
(Bumper Book of Government Waste, 2006)
There is inevitably a significant period during which former presidents continue to receive large amounts of post, engagements and commitments to fulfil.
The '9 months priority' is simply wrong. If the former President is a member, he/she can use the car pool like any other MEP. Members are expected to share cars as required.
The secretarial allowance is not paid to the member but covers the employment of extra staff (above and beyond the needs of normal members) required to deal with the extra workload mentioned above, on the same basis as the normal secretarial allowance. Moreover the time limit is a ceiling and is not systematically taken up.
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