How EU chiefs claimed £45k in expenses – no questions asked!

BRUSSELS chief Jean-Claude Juncker and his European commissioners claimed more than £ 5,000 in expenses in two months without providing receipts.

Under lax EU spending rules, the 28 officials can claim a ‘no questions asked’ daily allowance of between £51 and £113 while away on trips, depending on which country they are visiting.

Known as per diems, they are supposed to help cover meals, but commissioners do not have to submit any proof of how they were used. In the first two months of 2016, together they received £ 5,27 in per diems. Campaigners have fought for two years to see commissioners’ expenses, but the EU has released just two months’ worth. In total they run to almost £ 50,000 on 261 official trips during that period – equating to £8,000 per month for each commissioner.

The European Commission, which says it trusts its members to ‘declare things have been done according to the rules’, is refusing to disclose other expenses due to the ‘excessive administrative burden’.