(1)

According to Article 73(2) of the Implementing Measures for the Statute for Members of the European Parliament (2) (‘the Implementing Measures’), the maximum monthly amount defrayable in respect of the personal staff referred to in Article 29(4) thereof, is, where appropriate, to be index-linked annually by the Bureau, on the basis of the Joint Index for measuring the change in the cost of living for EU officials (‘Joint Index’) established by Eurostat pursuant to Article 65 of, and in accordance with Annex XI to, the Staff Regulations of Officials of the European Union and the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants, laid down in Council Regulation (EEC, Euratom, ECSC) No 259/68 (3) (‘Staff Regulations’).

(2)

That index-linking is normally decided by the Bureau in December and takes effect retroactively from July of the year in question. However, the Joint Index established by Eurostat for the period 1 July 2023 to 1 January 2024 was set at 103,0 (+ 3,0 %), equal to the threshold of 3 % established by the Staff Regulations to trigger an intermediate update in the remuneration of EU officials, and consequently an intermediate update of the monthly amount of Members’ parliamentary assistance allowance became necessary.

(3)

For the first half of 2024, the Commission set the applicable adjustment rate at 3 %. Accordingly, at its meeting of 24 June 2024, the Bureau decided to increase the monthly amount of the parliamentary assistance allowance by 3 %, to EUR 29 557, with effect from 1 January 2024 (4).

(4)

For the second half of 2024, the Commission set the applicable adjustment rate at 5,3 %, to be implemented in two steps, through a first indexation of 4,1 %, with effect from 1 July 2024, and a second indexation of 1,2 %, with effect from 1 April 2025.

(5)

Accordingly, at its meeting of 16 December 2024, the Bureau decided to increase the monthly amount of the parliamentary assistance allowance by 4,1 %, to EUR 30 769, with effect from 1 July 2024 (5).

(6)

In order to fully reflect the applicable adjustment rate of 5,3 % set by the Commission, the monthly amount of the parliamentary assistance allowance should now be further increased by 1,2 %, to EUR 31 138, with effect from 1 April 2025. To this end, Article 29(4) of the Implementing Measures should be amended accordingly,