£1.4m for the pot

Euro MPs’ huge rise for hot drinks kitty

Written by Peter Allen for DailyRecord

EURO MPs have voted to bump up their tea and coffee kitty to an astonishing £1.4million. It works out at more than £2200 for each of the 626 members of the European Parliament.

The 11 per cent rise was agreed after the money allocated for hot drinks this year - all paid for by taxpayers across Europe - ran out.

Extra money has now been allocated by the parliament’s budget committee, following a “sudden surge” in demand.

A parliamentary source said: “There are more and more dull meetings to sit through and MEPs need any stimulant they can get hold of. “However, you can see those taxpayers who pay for their own refreshments at work being pretty angry about the figures involved.”

An EU spokesman confirmed that the extra money had been agreed to cover the costs of “beverages, refreshments and occasional light meals.”

But he stressed that everything was being done to save money, even to the point that those MEPs who didn’t drink tea or coffee were opting for water instead of orange juice to keep down the bill for the tea and light refreshments.