The exact number of Commissioners, who will retire at the end of this Commission's mandate, by the end of the year, remains uncertain, and the formation of the new Commission could be delayed until October. However, some reports suggest that as many as 20 Commissioners could leave. The 20 expected to leave will receive a total of €25 million in payouts.
Commissioners receive basic salaries of at least €238,000 a year (more for Vice-Presidents and the President) - meaning that in one five-year term alone, a Commissioner earns in excess of €1.2 million. Commission President Jose Manuel Barosso receives an annual salary of over €290,000. This is almost exactly equivalent to US President Barack Obama's salary ($400,000). This is in addition to a host of other perks, which include residence allowances of 15% of their salary (€35,700) and monthly 'entertainment allowances'.
In total, the team of 27 European Commissioners has cost the taxpayer more than €75 million, in this five-year term - including salaries, pensions, and the various allowances. This does not include other perks that Commissioners receive during their service, such as family allowances and subsistence allowances. The pension costs alone amount to more than €36 million.
Open Europe Analyst Sarah Gaskell said: "Taxpayers around Europe, whose pensions have been swallowed up in the recession, will rightly question why they are footing such an enormous bill for a handful of remote officials who they never voted for in the first place."
