MPs approve cut to wages

MPs voted on Wednesday to decouple their wages from those of the country’s judges, to which they had been linked since 1975, and agreed a 10 percent reduction to lawmakers’ salaries.

By approving Parliament’s 2016 budget, the MPs agreed to their gross monthly wages dropping from 5,700 to 5,130 euros. Overall, the 2016 budget, which totals 136 million euros, will be 3.9 million euros down on this year’s.

This includes a 170,000-euro reduction in the amount spent on wages for parliamentary staff due to a number of retirements and fewer transfers from other public services.