Article 1
This Statute lays down the regulations and general conditions governing the performance of the duties of Members of the European Parliament.
European Parliament decision on the adoption of a Statute for Members of the European Parliament
European Parliament decision on the adoption of a Statute for Members of the European Parliament
Data as of 2026-07-04 · Compiled from an official source version. Later amendments or repeals may not be reflected; the official text prevails. · Read the official text ↗
Article 2
(1) Members shall be free and independent. (2) Agreements concerning the resignation from office of a Member before or at the end of a parliamentary term shall be null and void.
Article 3
(1) Members shall not be bound by any instructions and shall not receive a binding mandate []. (2) They shall vote on an individual and personal basis [] (3) Agreements concerning the way in which the mandate is to be exercised shall be null and void. Article 4 [] (1) A Member may at no time be the subject of legal proceedings or otherwise be held to account extrajudicially for any action taken, vote cast or statement made in the exercise of his/her mandate. (2) Parliament shall decide, on an application from the Member, whether a statement was made in the exercise of his/her mandate. (3) Parliament shall lay down provisions for the implementation of this Article in its Rules of Procedure. Article 5 [] (1) Any restriction of a Member's personal freedom shall be permitted only with the consent of Parliament, except where he/she is caught in the act. (2) The seizure of a Member's documents or electronic records or the searching of his/her person, office or place of residence or interception of his/her mail and telephone calls may be ordered only with the consent of Parliament. (3) Investigations or criminal proceedings against a Member shall be suspended at Parliament's request. (4) Consent pursuant to paragraph 2 may be applied for only by the authorities competent under national law. (5) Consent pursuant to paragraph 2, or suspension pursuant to paragraph 3, may be granted conditionally, for a limited period or on a restricted basis. (6) Article 4(3) shall apply mutatis mutandis.
Article 6
(1) A Member shall be entitled at all times to refuse to give evidence about persons who have entrusted facts to him/her or to whom, in the exercise of his/her mandate, he/she has entrusted facts and such facts themselves. (2) Measures under Article 5(2), or the exploitation of documents already seized, shall be prohibited. Article 7 [] (1) Members shall enjoy freedom of movement throughout the European Union. (2) This right may not be restricted by law or by order of a public authority or court.
Article 8
The privileges and immunities arising from the foregoing Articles may not be restricted by other provisions of the European Community's derived legislation.
Article 9
Documents and electronic records which a Member has received, drafted or sent, and which do not bear an official document number, shall be deemed not to be European Parliament documents.
Article 10
(1) Each Member shall be entitled to table proposals for Community acts in the context of the European Parliament's right of initiative. (2) Article 4(3) shall apply mutatis mutandis.
Article 11
(1) Members shall be entitled to inspect any files held by Parliament. (2) This shall not apply to personal files and accounts. (3) Paragraph 1 shall apply without prejudice to acts of the European Union and agreements by the Institutions concerning access to documents. (4) Parliament shall lay down provisions for the implementation of this Article.
Article 12
(1) The documents of the European Parliament shall be translated into all the official languages. (2) Speeches shall be interpreted simultaneously into all the other official languages.
Article 13
(1) Members may form themselves into political groups. (2) Article 4(3) shall apply mutatis mutandis.
Article 14
(1) The political groups shall be part of Parliament. (2) They may sue and be sued.
Article 15
(1) Members shall be entitled to an appropriate allowance to safeguard their independence. (2) At the end of their term of office, they shall be entitled to a transitional allowance and a pension. (3) Agreements on the use of the allowance, the transitional allowance and the pension for other than private purposes shall be null and void. (4) The surviving dependants of Members or former Members shall be entitled to a survivor's pension.
Article 16
The amount of the allowance shall be 50 % of the basic salary of a judge at the Court of Justice of the European Communities.
Article 17
The allowance received by a Member for the exercise of a mandate in another parliament shall be offset against the allowance.
Article 18
(1) The allowance shall be subject to Community tax on the same terms and conditions as those laid down on the basis of Article 13 of the Protocol on the Privileges and Immunities of the Communities for the officials and other servants of the European Communities. (2) The right of Member States to take the allowance into account in determining the tax to be levied on other income shall remain unchanged.
Article 19
(1) At the end of their term of office Members shall be entitled to a transitional allowance equivalent to the allowance pursuant to Article 16. (2) This entitlement shall continue for one month per year in which their mandate has been exercised, but not for less than six months or more than 24 months. (3) No such entitlement arises in the event of a Member assuming a mandate in another parliament or taking public office. (4) In the event of death, the transitional allowance shall be paid for the last time in the month in which the former Member died. (5) Article 18 shall apply mutatis mutandis.
Article 20
(1) Former Members shall be entitled to an old-age pension as from the age of 60. (2) This pension shall be, for each full year's exercise of a mandate, 3,5 % of the allowance pursuant to Article 16 and one-twelfth thereof for each further full month, but not more than 70 % in total. (3) Entitlement to the old-age pension shall exist irrespective of any other pension. (4) Articles 17 and 18 shall apply mutatis mutandis.
Article 21
(1) Members who become incapacitated during their term of office shall be entitled to a pension. (2) Article 20(2) shall apply mutatis mutandis. However, the amount of the pension shall be at least 35 % of the allowance pursuant to Article 16. (3) The entitlement shall take effect when the Member concerned stands down. (4) Articles 11 (4), 17 and 18 shall apply mutatis mutandis.
Article 22
Should a former Member be entitled simultaneously to the payment of the transitional allowance pursuant to Article 19 and the pension pursuant to Article 20 or Article 21, he or she shall decide which arrangement shall be applied.
Article 23
(1) In the event of the death of a Member during his/her term of office, or of a former Member who at the time of his/her death was entitled to a pension pursuant to Article 20 or Article 21, the spouse and dependent children shall be entitled to a survivor's pension. (2) The total amount of the pension shall not exceed the pension to which the Member would have been entitled at the end of the parliamentary term or to which the former Member was entitled. (3) The surviving spouse shall receive 60 % of the amount referred to in paragraph 2, but in any case at least 30% of the Member's allowance. Such entitlement shall not be affected if the surviving spouse remarries. (4) A dependent child shall receive 20 % of that amount. (5) Should it be necessary, the maximum amount of the pension to be paid shall be divided between the spouse and the children in the ratio of the percentages laid down in paragraphs 3 and 4. (6) The pension shall be paid as from the first day of the month following the date of death. (7) Should the spouse die, the entitlement shall expire at the end of the month during which the death occurred. (8) A child's entitlement shall expire at the end of the month in which he/she reaches the age of 21. However, it shall continue for the duration of education or vocational training, but only until the end of the month during which he/she reaches the age of 25. The entitlement shall continue as long as the child is unable to support himself/herself on account of sickness or infirmity. (9) Partners from relationships recognised in the Member States shall be treated as equivalent to spouses. (10) Articles 11 (4) and 18 shall apply mutatis mutandis.
Article 24
(1) To finance the pensions a fund shall be set up which shall constitute reserves for the pensions. (2) The reserves shall be constituted from monthly payments by Parliament (two-thirds) and Members (one-third) and also from the interest accruing therefrom. (3) The amount of the contributions required shall be determined annually by Parliament. (4) The contributions pursuant to paragraph 2 shall not be subject to any tax. (5) The accounts shall be audited by the European Court of Auditors.
Article 25
(1) Members and former Members drawing a pension, and persons entitled to the survivor's pension, shall be entitled to reimbursement of the costs that they incur as a result of sickness, pregnancy or the birth of a child. (2) To cover the costs a fund shall be set up, in the financing of which former Members shall likewise participate. (3) Articles 11(4) and 24 shall apply mutatis mutandis.
Article 26
(1) Members shall be entitled to insurance cover for the risks connected with the exercise of their mandate. (2) Article 11 (4) shall apply mutatis mutandis.
Article 27
(1) Members shall be entitled to reimbursement of costs incurred in the exercise of their mandate. (2) Parliament shall determine those cases in which reimbursement may be effected by means of a flat-rate sum. (3) Articles 11(4) and 15(3) shall apply mutatis mutandis.
Article 28
(1) Members shall be entitled to assistance from personal staff whom they may freely choose themselves. (2) Article 11 (4) shall apply mutatis mutandis.
Article 29
(1) Members shall be entitled to use Parliament's office facilities, telecommunications equipment and official vehicles. (2) Article 11 (4) shall apply mutatis mutandis.
Article 30
All payments shall be made from the budget of the European Union and from the funds to be established pursuant to Articles 24 and 25.
Article 31
The benefits provided by the European Parliament pursuant to Articles 24 and 25 shall not be subject to tax.
Article 32
Decisions concerning the implementation of this Statute shall be published in the L series of the Official Journal of the European Union. B. Transitional provisions
Article 33
(1) Members who were already sitting Members at the beginning of the parliamentary term in which this Statute enters into force and who have been re-elected, may opt for the national system applicable hitherto in respect of the allowance, transitional allowance and pensions for the entire duration of their term of office. (2) These payments shall be made from the budget of the Member State and shall be subject only to national tax. (3) Such Members shall pay no contribution to the fund established pursuant to Article 24.
Article 34
(1) Members who wish to continue with the national system applicable hitherto pursuant to Article 33(1) shall notify the President of Parliament of this decision in writing within 30 days of the entry into force of this Statute. (2) The decision shall be final and irrevocable. (3) Should such notification not be made within the time-limit, the provisions of this Statute shall apply.
Article 35
(1) The voluntary pension fund set up by the European Parliament shall be maintained after the entry into force of this Statute for Members or former Members who have already acquired rights or future entitlements in that fund or who opt for the national system applicable hitherto pursuant to Article 33(1). (2) Acquired rights and future entitlements shall be maintained in full. (3) The contributions to this fund shall not be subject to any tax. (4) Members who pay contributions to the pension fund under Article 24 may not acquire any new rights or future entitlements in the voluntary pension fund. (5) The fund shall not be open to Members who are first elected to Parliament when this Statute becomes applicable. (6) Article 15(3), Article 18 and Article 20(3) shall apply mutatis mutandis.
Article 36
(1) Any pension entitlement that a Member has acquired in accordance with national arrangements at the time when this Statute is applied shall be retained in full. (2) Any term of office served in the European Parliament or in a national parliament which under national arrangements does not give rise to any pension entitlement shall be taken into account in calculating the pension based on this Statute.
Article 37
(1) For a transitional period each new Member State may adopt, for the Members elected in it, rules different from the provisions of this Statute as regards the allowance, transitional allowance and pensions. (2) These rules shall place the Members on at least an equal footing with the members of their respective national parliament. (3) All payments shall be made from the budget of the Member State in question. (4) The transitional period shall begin on the date of entry into force of the accession treaty and shall end at the latest at the end of the second full European Parliament parliamentary term after that date. (5) The entitlements of Members pursuant to Articles 25 to 29 shall not be affected by such rules. C. Entry into force
Article 38
(1) This Statute shall enter into force after its approval by the Council and at the same time as the Treaty amendments adopted on the basis of the work of the European Convention. (2) Without prejudice to paragraph 1, — Article 3(1) and (2) shall enter into force if and when Article 4(1) of the 1976 Act is repealed; — Article 4 shall enter into force if and when Article 9 of the Protocol is repealed; — Article 5 shall enter into force if and when Article 10 of the Protocol is repealed; — Article 7 shall enter into force if and when Article 8 of the Protocol is repealed. (3) After the Council has given its approval, this Statute shall be duly signed by the President of the European Parliament and published in the L series of the Office Journal of the European Union. [1] Hereinafter referred to as: 'EC Treaty’. [2] further references to the Treaties in this Statute relate solely to the provisions of EC Treaty [3] OJ L 283, 21.10.2002, p. 1.. [4] ECJ Judgment of 15.9.1981, Case 208/80 Lord Bruce, ECR 2205. [5] See footnote 1 to recital 22. [6] Paragraph 17. [7] Paragraph 21. [] See Article 37(2). --------------------------------------------------
Source: EUR-Lex (Publications Office of the EU), © European Union, reuse permitted under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.
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