The Green Deal and further burdens for farmers, and terrible salaries for German agricultural experts – said PiS member Michał Dworczyk on the X website. The politician posted a document online asking questions to the Commission and asking for a written response.
Michał Dworczyk, PiS Member of the European Parliament, sent a letter to the European Commission about the “unreasonably high remuneration and non-transparent selection procedure of the Special Advisor to the President of the European Commission.”
149,963.66 euros is the compensation that Peter Strohschneider, professor of medieval history, received for 154 days of work on the report ‘Strategic dialogue on the future of EU agriculture’ commissioned by the President of the European Commission. Ursula von der Leyen awarded the German expert a daily rate of EUR 973.79, which is higher than the maximum rate of EUR 594.22 usually paid to EC special advisors. While the regulations allow the EC to increase remuneration in justified exceptional cases, it is worth noting that the Commission also works with unpaid accredited consultants, such as Mario Draghi, author of the European Competitiveness Report. The amount awarded to Professor Strohschneider is surprising. This is especially true because the selection of special advisors is arbitrary and the selection process is not regulated in any way and depends solely on the commissioners and the chairman. The lack of transparency in the activities of the committee chairman appears to be a recurring pattern. In July this year, the EU court accused it of insufficient transparency in concluding billion-dollar contracts for the purchase of COVID-19 vaccines.
– we read.
A case that led to controversy
PiS MEP Michał Dworczyk asked the following questions:
How does the EC justify Professor Strohschneider’s exceptionally high remuneration in the context of other special advisors who carry out assignments free of charge?
What were the specific reasons for having a history professor commission a report on the future of agriculture in the EU?
Does the EC see that the lack of transparency and clear criteria in the selection of special advisors could lead to abuse and is inconsistent with the standards regulating employment in EU institutions?
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Source: wPolityce